MASTER 

NEGATIVE 

NO.  92-81108-11 


MICROFILMED  1993 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES/NEW  YORK 


as  part  of  the 
"Foundations  of  Western  Civilization  Preservation  Project" 


Funded  by  the 
NATIONAL  ENDOWMENT  FOR  THE  HUMANITIES 


Reproductions  may  not  be  made  without  permission  from 

Columbia  University  Library 


COPYRIGHT  STATEMENT 


The  copyright  law  of  the  United  States  -  Title  17,  United 
States  Code  -  concerns  the  making  of  photocopies  or 
other  reproductions  of  copyrighted  material. 

Under  certain  conditions  specified  in  the  law,  libraries  and 
archives  are  authorized  to  furnish  a  photocopy  or  other 
reproduction.  One  of  these  specified  conditions  is  that  the 
photocopy  or  other  reproduction  is  not  to  be  "used  for  any 
purpose  other  than  private  study,  scholarship,  or 
research."  If  a  user  makes  a  request  for,  or  later  uses,  a 
photocopy  or  reproduction  for  purposes  in  excess  of  "fair 
use,"  that  user  may  be  liable  for  copyright  infringement. 

This  institution  reserves  the  right  to  refuse  to  accept  a 
copy  order  if,  in  its  judgement,  fulfillment  of  the  order 
would  involve  violation  of  the  copyright  law. 


A UTHOR : 


SHIELDS,  EMILY 
LEDYARD 


TITLE: 


CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


M    M..^./m.  \^'  MZ^  « 


MENASHA 


DATE: 


1917 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 


Master  Negative  # 


BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MICROFORM  TARGFT 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


F" 


886 
Sh6 


'"■"4MMM*ll!>««f^«B<| 


'4 


Shields,  Emily  Ledyard,  1883- 

_    ...  Tlie  cults  of  Lesbos  ...  by  Emily  Ledyard  Shields. 
Menasha,  Wis.,  George  Banta  publishing  company,  1917. 
xviii,  100  p.,  1 1.   24"-. 

Thesis  (ph.  d.)— Johns  Hopkins  university.  1915. 
Vita. 

Bibliography:  p.  i95j-96. 


1.  Lesbos.    2.  Cultus.  Greek.    3.  Mythology,  Greek. 

383^)97  " 

'    )     ■ 

Library  of  Congress  ^ — ' 

Johns  Hookins  Univ.  Libr. 


BL78S.SS 


17-22695 


:i 


TECHNICAL  MICROFORM  DATA 
REDUCTION     RATIp:_i/^_ 


FILM     SIZE: '_ 

IMAGE  PLACEMENT:    lA    (OAi    IB     IIB 

DATE     FILMED: _2=^z2:i3 INITIALS.jSl^^l^ 

HLMEDBY:    RESEARCH  PUBLICATIONS.  INC  WOODBRIDGE.  CT 


c 


\ 


Association  for  Information  and  image  {Management 

1100  Wayne  Avenue,  Suite  1100 
Silver  Spring,  Maryland  20910 

301/587-8202 


Centimeter 

1         2        3 

lllliiiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiln 


iUJ 


I      I 


4         5 

mliiiiliiii 


i  I  r 


T 


^ 


6 

iiiliiii 


7        8 

iiiliiiili 


I 


9 

iiliii 


ITT 


Inches 


1 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


10       11 


I  r  r 


2  8 


Hill  T  o 
|S6  J-^ 

163 


2.5 


m 

ii     u 
bbu 


36 


4  0 


1.4 


2.2 


2.0 


1.8 


1.6 


12       13       14       15   mm 

iiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiil 
I  II     II  I  I  I  I  I  II  I  '« 


MfiNUFfiCTURED   TO  fillM  STflNDRRDS 
BY  fiPPLIED  IMAGE.    INC. 


Mr'  r' 


/:  IT. 


■f?r-'^^' 


Wi\t  3l0lftt0  1^0pkitt0  ImuprBttg 


The  Cults  of  Lesbos 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  BOARD  OF  UNIA  ERSITY  STUDIKSOF  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS 

UNIVERSn-Y  IN  CONFORMITY  VVTTH  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DECREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 


ElVirLY  LELVARD  SHIELDS 


» 


sK     ^^ 


Ql{«  qinli»gi«tt  l^tm* 

GIORGE  B.\NTA  pt'BLISHING  COMP.\NY 

MEN.VsSa.  WISCONSIN 

1917 


{ 


if  %■  -  3 


f^ 


/ 


?**"*TI  ^^"•nZ^      '"*""'**^ 


'^Vx'Qi 


Columfjia  Hnifacrsitp 

intfteCitPofiJeioiaork 


I.  i  !;  R  A  R  \- 


v»» 


'♦-   ' 


^ 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY   LIBRARIES 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing,  as 

provided  by  the  library  rules  or  by  special  arrangement  with 

the  Librarian  in  charge. 


DATE  BORROWED 


DATE  DUE 


bEC  1  -  '^^ 


"     Vl. 


DATE  BORROWED 


DATE  DUE 


C28  (7-«i7)  MlOO 


\     < 


■)' 


I 


JSii^  Mtil\m  ^tipkim  llntoraitg 


The  Cults  of  Lesbos 


.^' 


<pif»» 


0 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  BOARD  OF  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES  OF  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS 

UNIVERSITY  IN  CONFORMITY  WITH  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 

EMILY  LEDYARD  SHIELDS 


\   *  V 


GBORGE  BANTA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
MENASHA,  WISCONSIN 

1917 


!. 


% 


H 


V 


<5: 


CONTENTS 

Page 
introduction v 

Chapter  I 
The  Twelve  Gods 1 

Chapter  II 
The  Other  Deities 50 

Chapter  III 
Heroes 78 

Chapter  IV 
Kings  and  Emperors 85 

Chapter  V 
Lesbian  Citizens 91 

bibliography 95 

INDEX 97 


^ 


V 


•  X,^  f.^.fgr---'-   '  ^ 


INTRODUCTION 

S.  L.  Plehn,  in  his  Lesbiacorum  Liber,  Berlin,  1826,  pp.  115-120, 
wrote  a  short  section  entitled  Res  Sacrae.     Although  Plehn  made  a 
very  careful  collection  of  the  literary  evidence,  he  had  very  httle 
epigraphical  or  numismatic  material  at  his  disposal.     But  in  recent 
years  the  number  of  Lesbian  inscriptions  has  been  many  times  increased 
by  the  Inscriptiones  Graecae  Insularum  Lesbi  Nesi  Tenedi,  William 
Paton,  Berlin,  1899;  by  Unedierte  Inschriften  von  Mytilene,  Petros 
N.  Papageorgiu,  Leipzig,  1900;  by  '\vkKboroi  'Emy palpal  AeajSov,  'Enfjiap- 
ovriX  Aavtd,  Mytilene,  1913;  and  by  other  publications  appearing  from 
time  to  time  in  the  daily  newspapers  of  Greek  cities.^     The  coins  of 
the  island  are  unusually  beautiful  and  varied  in  type.     Of  those  pub- 
lished in  Doctrina  Numorum  Veterum,  Joseph  Eckhel,  Leipzig,  1792- 
1828,  and  in  Description  de  Medailles  antiques  grecques  et  romaines, 
Mionnet,  Paris,  1806-1808,  Plehn  made  good  use.     But  since  that 
time   there  have  appeared  the   Catalogue  of   Coins   in  the   British 
Museum— Troas,  Aeolis  and  Lesbos,  Warwick  Wroth,  London,  1894; 
Historia  Numorum,  Barclay  V.  Head,  Oxford,   1911;  Catalogue  of 
Greek   Coins  in  the  Hunterian   Collection,   University  of  Glasgow, 
George  Macdonald,  1901;  and  many  pubHcations  in  the  journals  of 
numismatics.2     Not  only  have  these  collections  of  material  been  made, 
but  during  the  last  fifty  years  or  so  important  books  about  Lesbos, 
of  an  archaeological,  historical  and  topographical  nature  have  been 
written.     Among  these  should  be  named,  Travels  and  Discoveries  in 
the  Levant,  C.  T.  Newton,  London,  1865;  Reise  auf  der  Insel  Lesbos, 
A.  Conze,  Hanover,  1865;  Die  Antiken  Baureste  der  Insel  Lesbos, 
Robert  Koldewey,  Berlin,  1890,  which  treat  of  the  antiquities.     For 
history,  most  valuable  are  Rom  und  Mytilene,  Conrad  Cichorius, 
Leipzig,  1888;  and  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  von  Lesbos  im  vierten 
Jahrhundert  v.  Chr.,  Hans  Pistorius,  Bonn,  1913.     The  books  dealing 
with  topography,  description  and  modern  life  are  most  numerous  of 
all,  but  are  only  indirectly  related  to  the  subject  of  the  ancient  cults.' 
For  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  legends  and  worship  of  the  gods 

'  For  a  complete  list  of  these  publications  of  inscriptions  see  'Apx.  'E^?.  1913, 
pp.  220-1. 

2  Reference  will  be  made  to  these  later  as  the  material  is  required. 

3  For  a  list  of  these  books  of  travel  see  R.  Koldewey,  Die  Antiken  Baureste 
der  Insel  Lesbos,  pp.  1-2. 


\ 


/ 


VI 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


of  Lesbos  much  work  has  been  done  in  various  articles  of  Pauly- 
Wissowa's  Real-Encyclopadie  and  in  Roscher's  Ausflihrliches  Lexikon 
der  Griechischen  und  Romischen  Mythologie,  and  in  Lewis  R.  Far- 
nell's  Cults  of  the  Greek  States,  Oxford,  1896-1909.  But  as  no 
account  of  the  Lesbian  cults  as  a  whole  has  been  pubhshed  since 
Plehn's  work  ninety  years  ago,  it  has  seemed  worth  while  to  make 
a  special  study  of  them.  And  yet,  even  now  only  a  beginning  has 
been  made  in  the  collection  of  material;  and  excavations  will  one  day 
reveal  how  insignificant  is  our  present  supply  of  information.  Especi- 
ally do  we  lack  evidence  for  the  sixth  and  fifth  centuries,  since  the 
literary  passages  relate  principally  to  the  myths,  while  the  earliest 
inscription  on  stone  dates  from  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  the  coins  with  divinities  as  types  are  from  the  middle  of  the  fifth . 
century  or  later.  The  date  of  excavation,  however,  cannot  at  present 
be  foretold.  And  so  it  does  not  seem  advisable  to  wait  during  an 
uncertain  length  of  time  for  the  gathering  of  a  complete  store  of 
information.  Enough  is  already  gained  to  show  that  the  Lesbian 
cults  were  many  of  them  peculiarly  interesting. 

As  the  situation  and  prosperity  of  the  island,  the  original  home  of 
the  inhabitants,  their  relations  with  other  peoples,  and  their  charac- 
ter, mental  and  moral,  all  exerted  a  great  influence  doubtless  on  the 
religion,  these  topics  will  be  treated  briefly,  in  order  to  make  clearer 
the  religious  history. 

Lesbos,  called  by  Strabo  vrjaos  17  Xea^os  \6yov  a^la  TrXetcrroi',  lies 
south  of  Troas,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gulf  of  Adramyttium.  Only  a 
narrow  channel  separates  it  from  Asia  Minor  on  the  north  and  east, 
so  narrow  that  Methymna  was  only  sixty  stades  distant  from  the 
shore  of  the  continent  at  Assus."*  Also  the  island  commands  an 
important  position  near  the  mouth  of  the  Hellespont;  and  with  its 
fleets,  which  were  from  early  times  important,  it  could  control  much 
of  the  traffic  by  sea  from  the  region  of  the  Pontus.^  Even  in  Homer 
we  learn  that  it  afforded  a  port  for  those  making  the  voyage  from  the 
Troad  to  Greece.^  And  to  the  great  corn  producing  region  of  the 
Euxine  Lesbos,  as  well  as  Athens,  could  look  for  a  great  part  of  its 
grain  supply.^    Yet  the  island  itself  was  very  fertile,  and  especially 

*  Strabo,  XIII,  616. 

*  Cf.  Hdt.  VI,  5.  Histiaeus  with  eight  ships  from  Lesbos  took  all  the  ships 
that  sailed  out  of  the  Pontus,  except  such  as  were  willing  to  submit  to  him. 

«  Od.  Ill,  169  f. 

'  Thuc.  Ill,  2;  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  3.  Cf.  Minns,  Scythians  and  Greeks,  p.  576; 
Pistorius,  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  von  Lesbos,  pp.  44  f.;  English  Historical 
Review,  1914,  pp.  125  f. 


fi^^-^r^f 


"  I 


\ 


\     - 


1 


y 


INTRODUCTION 


VU 


in  the  western  part  produced  much  wheat.*  The  grape  and  the 
olive  abounded.^  Diodorus  says,^°  ''The  islands,  exposed  to  the 
winds  and  supplying  healthful  air  to  the  inhabitants  and  producing 
fruits,  rejoiced  in  plenty  and  soon  made  those  who  lived  there  blessed. 
For  this  reason  they  were  also  called  the  Islands  of  the  Blessed  (At6 
Kal  MaKCipoov  icvoidaaQ7](jav  vrjaot),  the  abundance  of  good  things  giving 
rise  to  the  appellation." 

Besides  Macaria,  of  which  mention  has  just  been  made,  many 
other  names  and  epithets  were  given  to  Lesbos  in  antiquity,  indicative 
of  its  nature  and  importance.  Such  are  Aka^ov  evKTifihrju,  II.  IX, 
129;"  MdKapos  Uos,  II.  XXIV,  544;  Aka^os  r'  rjyadkrj,  Hymn  to  Apollo, 
III,  37;  Akal3os  kpawa,  Moschus,  III,  90;  Aecr/^o;  kv  ehbkvbpi^,  C.  I.  G.  II, 
3019;  olv-npri^  Aka^oio,  Anth.  Pal.  VII,  501;  Aka^ov  es  evoLvov,  Athen. 
(Hermesianax)  XIII,  598c;  Aeafiov  epLarcKpvKov,  Athen.  (Archestratus) 
III,  92d;  MoLKapos  ttoKlv,  Strabo,  VIII,  356;  ax^^ov  de  n  Kal  /jltjipottoKls 
.  .  .  TU)P  A16\lku)v  TToXecoj',  Strabo  XIII,  616;^^  Aka^ov  r  evpvxopOLO, 
Dionys.  Orbis  Descr.  537;  Trao-ewi/  6'  karlv  aoLdoTCLTrj,  Stobaeus  (Phan- 
ocles)  Flor.  64,  14;  leprj  Aeo-jSco,  ibidem;  h  Aeo-jSw  KXeLvrjs  ^Epeaov  irepL- 
KVfjiovos  iiaarco,  Athen.  Ill,  111  f.;  TrepLppvru)  "laay,  Lycophron,  Cass. 
219;^^  inclita     .     .     .     Lesbos,  Petron.  Sat.  133,  3. 

There  is  evidence  to  show  that  the  island  in  early  times  had  other 
names.  PUny^^  says  that  it  was  called  Himerte  et  Lasia,  Pelasgia, 
Aegira,  Aethiope,^^  Macaria.  According  to  Callimachus  it  was  called 
Mytonis  from  Myton,  son  of  Poseidon. ^^  Others  give  the  names 
Issa,  Antissa.^^  These  evidently  originated  from  characteristics  of 
Lesbos  or  from  names  of  places  from  which  the  Lesbians  came. 
Plehn^^  believed  that  Lesbos  was  called  Aethiope  because  of  Myrina, 

«  Athen.  (Archestratus)  III,  HI  f. 

•  Cf.  Conze,  Reise  auf  der  Insel  Lesbos;  Newton,  Travels  and  Discoveries. 

*°  Diod.  Sic.  V,  82.  Interesting  in  this  connection  is  Hesychius,  s.  v.  rjXvaLov 
naKapcov  vrjaos  .  .  otov  ov  diaXvoPTat  Slto  tG)v  acoyudrcoz'  at  ypvxa-'i--  fcal  oi  fxltv  (pact  yrepl 
AlywTov  elvai,  ol  8k  irepl  Atafiov. 

"  See  also  Od.  IV,  342  and  XVTI,  133. 

^2  Cf.  Strabo,  XIII,  622  and  Eustath.  Dion.  Per.  536,  thpvxopos  .  .  .  nrf- 
TpoiroXis  8k  Tuv  AloXtKojv. 

"  Cf.  Cicero's  description,  De  Leg.  Agr.  II,  16,  40,  agri  iucundi  et  fertiles. 

"  Pliny,  N.  H.  V,  139. 

"  Cf.  Epithet  elfi€pTu  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  313.     Hesych.  s.  v.  AWio^-  6  Ata^Los. 

"  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  MuriXi7i/Tj. 

^'  Strabo,  I,  60;  Eustath.  Dion.  Per.  .536. 

"  See  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  pp.  3-4  for  the  origin  of  the  names. 


f 


\ 


vm 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


queen  of  the  Amazons/^  who  is  said  to  have  conquered  it.  For  the 
Amazons,  according  to  Zenothemis,  lived  in  Aethiopia.^'^  It  is  much 
more  probable  that  the  name  was  Aethopie  and  that  it  was  given 
because  of  Xidbiriov^  a  region  near  the  Euripus,-^  from  which  we  know 
that  some  of  the  early  colonists  came.  A  detailed  account  of  these 
settlements  and  of  the  history  of  Lesbos  may  not  be  attempted  here. 
Only  enough  will  be  said  to  show  the  influence  of  other  countries  on 
Lesbos,  and  her  intluence,  in  turn,  on  the  peoples  with  whom  she  came 
in  contact. 

The  stories  of  the  settlement  of  Lesbos  indicate  a  close  relation- 
ship to  the  mainland  of  Greece.  Diodorus  Siculus-  gives  the  longest 
and  most  connected  account.  He  says  that  Xanthus,  son  of  Triopas, 
wuth  Pelasgians  from  the  Peloponnesus^^  took  possession  of  Lesbos, 
which  had  been  previously  without  inhabitants.  Some  generations 
later  Lesbos  was  stripped  of  its  population  by  the  flood  of  Deucalion. 
Then  came  Macar  or  Macareus.  This  period  seems  to  have  been  one 
of  the  most  important  for  settlement,  as  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
this  Macar  were  reputed  to  be  the  eponymous  heroes  and  heroines 
of  the  principal  cities  and  mountains  of  Lesbos. ^^  Concerning  the 
parentage  of  Macar,  Diodorus  gives  different  accounts.  In  book  V, 
81,  he  tells  that  ^lacar  was  son  of  Crinacus,  descendant  of  Zeus; 
while  in  book  V,  56,  he  calls  him  one  of  the  seven  sons  of  Helius,  thus 
indicating  a  Rhodian  origin.--'  Gruppe'-^  accepts  the  descent  from 
Zeus  through  Crinacus,  and  finds  a  connection  with  the  Boeotian 
region.  This  seems  more  likely  than  the  supposition  that  the  settlers 
of  the  period  came  from  Rhodes.-^  The  Lapith  Lesbus,  said  to  be  a 
son-in-law  of   Macar,   is   certainlv  a  Thessalian-Minvan  element. ^"^ 

^'  Diod.  Sic.  TTI,  55. 

20  Schol.  Apol.  Rhod.  II,  965. 

-'  Cf.  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  kl66iri.ov.  Such  mistakes  in  spelling  are  easily  made. 
Cf.  Anth.  Pal.  VI,  269,  where  the  codex  reads  Mdioirlq.  for  Xidoirig.. 

"Diod.  Sic.  V,  81;  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  MuTiX-quTj.  Cf.  Plehn,  op.  cit.  p.  24, 
and  Busolt,  Gr.  Gesch.  I,  pp.  273  f. 

23  There  is  considerable  evidence  for  Pelasgians  in  Lesbos,  and  as  Plehn  {op. 
cit.  pp.  29-30)  thinks,  they  probably  came  from  Thessaly. 

^^  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  MunX^fT?. 

"^  See  Plehn,  op.  cit.  p.  25,  for  still  other  accounts  of  the  parentage  of  Macar. 

2*  Gruppe,  Gr.  Mythol.  p.  297,  n.  I;  Busolt,  /.  c. 

^^  There  was  certainly  some  connection,  however,  with  Rhodes  at  this  period. 
Diod.  Sic.  V,  81,  says  Macar  sent  his  sons  into  Chios,  Samos,  Cos  and  Rhodes 
with  colonies.  Berard,  Les  Pheniciens  et  I'Odyss^e,  II,  79;  Curtius,  Gr.  Gesch. 
I,  49,  connects  Macar  with  Melkar. 

2'  Thraemer,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  II,  1660. 


W 


i 


r 


f\ 


<f. 


t 


INTRODUCTION 


IX 


But  Plehn  is  right  in  supposing  that  no  man  called  Macar  ever  really 
held  the  rule  of  Lesbos,^^  and  that  King  Macar  was  an  invention  of 
the  mythographers.  Compare  for  instance  the  more  likely  reason  for 
the  name,  MaKapo^v  prjaoL,  given  by  Diodorus  and  previously  men- 
tioned. But  the  last  settlements  of  the  island  are  said  to  have 
taken  place  after  the  Trojan  War.  Then  a  descendant  of  Orestes,^^ 
generally  believed  to  have  been  Penthilus  or  one  of  his  line,  went  to 
Boeotia  and,  joined  by  a  large  band  of  followers,  crossed  to  Euboea, 
then  to  Lesbos.  Later  came  Gras,  and  afterwards  Malaus  and 
Cleues,  all  descendants  of  Agamemnon.  Though  these  leaders  were 
reputed  to  have  come  originally  from  the  Peloponnesus,  they  gathered 
their  bands  of  followers  in  the  North  and  went  direct  from  northern 
Greece  to  Lesbos.  Thus  Thucydides^^  says  the  Aeolic  colonies  came 
from  Boeotia. 

A  study  of  the  dialects  at  once  brings  conviction  of  the  close 
relationship  between  the  people  of  Lesbos  and  of  Thessaly  and 
Boeotia.  For  the  dialects  of  these  three  regions  constitute  the 
Aeolic  group. ^"^  Connected  with  this  family  of  dialects  are  also  the 
Arcadian^^  and  Cyprian.  The  natural  inference  is  that  the  peoples 
speaking  dialects  which  show  such  close  resemblance  must  have  come 
from  a  common  home. 

In  tracing  the  connection  of  the  Lesbians  with  the  peoples  of 
northern  Greece,  the  similarity  of  geographical  names  is  also  useful  as 
evidence.  And  in  pointing  out  cases  of  such  similarity  Gruppe^^  has 
done  important  service.  Some  of  the  noteworthy  instances  are 
Pyrrha,  a  city  in  Lesbos  and  a  promontory  on  the  shore  of  Thessaly; 
Aaptcratat  Trerpat,  rocks  north  of  Mytilene,  and  Larisa,  a  city  of 
Thessaly ;^^  Pylaeus,  a  mountain  in  Lesbos,  and  a  leader  of  Pelas- 
gians in  the  Trojan  War.^*'  From  Euboea  came  the  name  of  the 
island  Chalcis  near  Lesbos  and  the  name  of  Mount  Macistus"  in  Lesbos. 

29  Plehn,  op.  cit.  p.  32. 

30  The  name  is  variously  given,  and  some  say  Orestes  himself.     See  Plehn, 
op.  cit.  pp.  38-39. 

31  Thuc.  VII,  57. 

32  Buck,  Gr.  Dialects,  p.  9;  Thumb,  Handbuch  der  Gr.  Dial.  pp.  51-71;  Hoff- 
mann, Gr.  Dial.  II,  3-8;  Meister,  Gr.  Dial.  pp.  1-8. 

33  Some  similarities  between  the   Lesbian  and   Arcadian   cults   can   also   be 
traced. 

3<  Gruppe,  op.  cit.  pp.  296-300.     Some  of  the  resemblances  are  not  very  strik- 
ing, however. 

36  Strabo,  IX,  440. 

3«  Strabo,  XIII,  621  and  II.  II,  840. 

37  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  XaXm;  Pliny,  H.  N.  V,  140. 


\ 


X  THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 

Eresus,  a  city  of  Lesbos,  and  Eiresion,  a  city  of  the  Boeotians,  existed.^^ 
Brisa,  the  name  of  a  promontory  in  Lesbos,  has  a  resemblance  to  a 
proper  name  occurring  in  northern  Greece. ^^  This  name  Brisa  was 
already  known  in  Lesbos  at  the  time  of  Homer'^^  apparently,  and  the 
name  of  Macar  is  associated  with  the  place  of  this  name.  Andro- 
tion^^  says  that  Macar  founded  a  temple  of  Dionysus  there.  But 
the  cult  of  Dionysus  Bpiaalos  seems  to  have  come  from  the  mainland  of 
Greece.-^-  This  is  perhaps  another  indication  that  the  settlement 
personified  in  "  Macar"  did  not  come  from  Rhodes,  but  from  northern 
Greece. 

The  later  settlements  of  Lesbos  seem  to  have  occurred  about  the 
time  of  the  Dorian  invasion  of  the  Peloponnesus.  The  names  of 
Tantalus  and  Pelops,  which  are  connected  also  with  Lesbos  and  its 
myths  (in  some  respects  analogous  to  those  of  Elis  and  Laconia), 
show  Peloponnesian  influence.'^^ 

Lesbos  soon  became  the  center  of  a  large  number  of  colonies, 
which  she  planted  in  the  Troad  and  on  other  neighboring  coasts. 
''Cyme,"  says  Strabo,"^"*  "is  the  largest  and  best  of  the  Aeolian  cities. 
This  and  Lesbos  may  be  considered  the  capitals  of  the  other  cities, 
about  thirty  in  number — of  which  several  no  longer  exist."  Many 
of  these  cities  were  founded  by  the  Lesbians— such  as  Lamponia/^ 
Hamaxitus,  Polymedeum,  Sigeum,  Tragasae  and  Neandria  by  Myti- 
lene;  Assus"^  and  Gargara  by  Methymna.  Livy*^  says  that  Peraea 
also  was  a  colony  of  Mytilene.     On  the  shore  of  Thrace,  Aenus,^^ 

3«  Etym.  Magn.  s.  v.  ElpkaLoi',  p.  303,  11. 

39Steph,  Byz.  s.  v.  BpLaa;  Etym.  Magn.  s.  v.  Bpiaalos,  p.  214,  11;  Sittig,  De 
Graecorum  Nominibus  Theophoris,  Halle,  1911,  p.  90. 

*o  Wilamowitz,  Horn.  Untersuch.  pp.  409-12. 

*^  Etym.  Magn.  /.  c. 

<2  See  pp.  57-8. 

*^  Mytilene  is  reported  as  daughter  either  of  Macar  or  Pelops,  Steph.  Byz. 
s.  V.  MuTtXi7J/i7.  Wide,  Lakonische  Kulte,  has  in  some  instances  shown  excel- 
lently the  resemblance  of  cults  of  Lesbos  to  those  of  Laconia. 

"  Strabo,  XIII,  623. 

"  E.  Meyer,  Gesch.  d.  .\lt.  II,  pp.  463  f. 

*«  Investigations  at  Assos,  Papers  of  the  Arch.  Inst,  of  America,  Series  I, 
pp.  66  f.  Strabo,  XIII,  610,  quoting  Myrsilus,  says  Assus  was  founded  by  people 
of  Methymna,  but  Stephanus,  s.   v.   "Aaaos,  says  by   Mytilene. 

*^Livy,  XXXVII,  21,  4. 

"  According  to  Hdt.  VII,  58  and  Thuc.  VII.  57,  Aenus  was  an  Aeolic  colony. 
Scymnus  of  Chios,  Orbis  Descr.  1.  696,  attributes  it  to  Mytilene;  Steph.  Byz. 
s.  V.  AIws,  to  Cyme;  Strabo,  VII,  frg.  52,  to  Mytilene  and  Cyme. 


4-^""'  ^ 


INTRODUCTION  XI 

Sestus,  Madytus,^^  and  in  the  Troad,  Abydus  and  Arisbe^*^  were 
according  to  some  traditions  settled  by  Lesbos.  It  is  evident,  there- 
fore, that  Lesbos  in  the  early  centuries  exerted  a  great  influence  over 
that  region  of  the  world.  The  height  of  her  power  seems  to  have 
been  reached  about  the  time  of  Pittacus.  It  was  then  that  she  came 
into  conflict  with  Athens  concerning  the  possession  of  Sigeum,  and 
lost  that  important  stronghold  by  the  decision  of  Periander.  Gradu- 
ally she  lost  also  other  territory — much  of  it  to  the  Athenians,  as  we 
know  from  a  tribute  list  of  that  city  of  the  year  425  B.C.^^  In  that 
record  (z,  11.  12-20)  are  preserved  the  names  of  certain  cities  of  the 
Trojan  shore  which  had  formerly  belonged  to  Mytilene,  but  had 
later  become  tributary  to  Athens.  They  are  Antandrus,  Phocleum,^^ 
Pordoselene,  Hamaxitus,  Larisa,  Achilleum.^^  After  the  middle  of 
the  second  century  B.C.,  Mytilene  still  held  territory  about  the  Gulf 
of  Adramyttium,  for  at  that  time  a  dispute  arose  between  Mytilene 
and  Pitane^^  concerning  the  boundaries  of  their  possessions.  Per- 
gamum  was  called  upon  to  arbitrate  the  matter  and  gave  her  decision 
in  favor  of  Pitane.  However,  in  the  time  of  Strabo^^  Mytilene  still 
held  villages  on  the  Gulf  of  Adramyttium. 

The  Lesbians  were  able  during  the  greater  part  of  the  fifth  century 
to  maintain  independence  towards  Athens,  only  furnishing  the  Athe- 
nians with  ships  for  a  time."'^  But  in  428  B.C.  when  Mytilene  with- 
drew from  her  allegiance  to  Athens  and  joined  the  side  of  Sparta, 
she  was  defeated  and  given  over  to  the  Athenian  Cleruchs.^^  The 
relation  of  Lesbian  history  to  that  of  Athens  and  of  the  whole  Greek 
world  for  the  fourth  century,  Hans  Pistorius  has  recently  treated  in 
great  detail.^^  At  the  close  of  this  century  Lesbos  was  under  the 
control  of  Lysimachus.^^  From  this  time  until  the  first  century  B.C. 
the  records  which  throw  light  on  her  history  are  very  few. 

<3  Scymnus,   Orbis  Descr.  11.   709-10;    Eustath.    Comment.    Dion.   Per.   513* 

6°  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  'Apia^v 

"I.  G.  I,  37=  Roberts  and  Gardner,  Intro,  to  Gr.  Epig.   17  (restored). 

'2  Rhoiteion   according   to   Roberts   and    Gardner,   /.   c. 

"  Cf.  Thuc.  Ill,  50,  3  and  IV,  52,  3. 

"  Frankel,  Inschr.  v.  Pergamon,  no.  245=  Dittenberger,  O.  G.  I.  no.  335. 
Cf.  Victor  B6rard,  De  Arbitrio  inter  liberas  Graecorum  Civitates,  p.  45;  Rev. 
Arch.  XII,  1908,  p.  195,  n.  2;  Tod.,  Gr.  Internat.  Arbitration,  p.  39. 

»  Strabo,  XIII,  605  and  607. 

"  Thuc.  I,  19;  III,  39;  VI,  85;  VII,  57. 

"  Thuc.  Ill,  2-50. 

'*  Pistorius,  Beitrage  zur  Gesch.  v.  Lesbos. 

"  Pistorius,  op.  cit.  p.  86. 


?      *^ 


xu 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


Before  the  Romans  became  powerful  in  the  East,  the  island  seems 
to  have  been  at  least  for  a  part  of  the  time  under  the  control  of  Egypt.®^ 
Among  the  Egyptian  papyri  has  been  found  a  series  of  drafts  of 
letters  dating  probably  from  the  end  of  the  third  century,^^  written  to 
various  officials,  and  containing  directions  concerning  the  collection 
of  foreign  revenues  of  Egypt.  One  is  to  Aphrodisius,  who  is  directed 
to  give  information  about  the  receipt  of  taxes  collected  in  Lesbos  and 
Thrace.^-  This  reference  to  taxes  levied  by  Egypt  in  the  island 
implies  that  the  influence  of  Egypt  in  Lesbos  was  much  greater  than 
has  been  supposed.*^"^  From  a  time  slightly  previous  comes  an  in- 
scription^^  which  gives  the  title  Oeos  to  Ptolemy  IV,  Philopator  (222- 
205  B.C.).  In  a  Ptolemaic  inscription  in  Toronto,^^  Apollonius  of 
Mytilene  is  mentioned — perhaps  a  soldier  in  the  royal  service  at 
Fayum.  As  late  as  194  A.D.  we  have  record  that  Prosdectus  of 
Mytilene  was  archon  of  an  athletic  club  in  Egypt.^^  '  Lesbian  in- 
scriptions indicate  that  many  Egyptians  likewise  resided  in  Lesbos. 
But  the  interest  in  Egypt  and  the  connection  with  it  through  travel 
and  commerce  arose  in  the  early  centuries  of  the  history  of  Lesbos. 
Alcaeus^'  when  in  exile  visited  Egypt;  Charaxus,''^^  the  brother  of 
Sappho  was  personally  engaged  in  trade  with  it;  and  Sappho  perhaps 
uses  epTTts,*'^  an  Egyptian  word  for  wine.  Terpander  is  said  to  have 
taken  the  lyre  of  Orpheus  to  Egypt. ^'^  We  find  according  to  Herodo- 
tus that  the  people  of  Mytilene  were  the  only  Aeolians  who  took 
part  in  the  establishment  of  the  Greek  temenos  called  the  "Hellen- 
ion"  at  Naucratis.'^^    In  classical  times  it  seems  that  Lesbos  was  a  cen- 

*°  This  accounts  to  a  great  extent  for  the  recognition  of  certain  Egyptian  gods 
in  Lesbos  and  for  the  honor  given  the  Ptolemies  there. 

''  On  palaeographical  grounds. 

«-  Grenfeli,  Hunt.  Smyly,  Tebtunis  Papyri,  I,  pp.  66-69,  dating  202-1  B.  C. 

«3  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  pp.  434  f. 

"L  G.  XII,  ii,  498. 

«*  A.  J.  A.  XIX,  1915,  p.  72. 

««  Gk.  Papyri  in  Br.  Mus.  Ill,  p.  218,  1.62. 

«7  Strabo,  I,  37. 

««Hdt.  II,  135;  Strabo,  XVII,  808;  Athen.  XIII,  596b;  Oxyrhynchus  Papyri, 
I,  no.  VIII;  D.  Mallet,  Les  Premiers  fitablissements  des  Grecs  en  figypte,  p.   155. 

«»  Sappho,  Frg.  51  (Bergk);  D.  Mallet,  op.  cit.  p.  366. 

'°  Nichom.    Enchir.   Harm.   exc.   I    (Mus.   Scriptores   Graeci,   p.   266). 

'^  Hdt.  II,  178.  The  other  states  were  Chios,  Teos,  Phocaea,  Clazomenae, 
Rhodes,  Cnidus,  Halicarnassus,  Phaselis.  Hugo  Prinz,  Funde  aus  Naukratis, 
p.  57;  Gardner,  Naukratis,  II,  no.  840. 


INTRODUCTION 


xni 


4S^-^ 


! 


ter  for  the  manufacture  of  bucchero  ware  which  it  exported  to  Egypt.'- 
Pape  thought  that  there  was  an  island  in  the  Nile  called  Lesbos,  since 
he  apparent^  misinterpreted  a  passage  of  Stephanus  which  refers  to  the 
AeoHc  island. '^^ 

During  the  period  when  Rhodes  was  at  the  height  of  her  power, 
Mytilene  was  one  of  the  states  which  sometimes  cooperated  with 
her;^"*  and  there  is  record  found  at  Eresus  of  a  treaty  between  Rhodes 
and  Lesbos  of  the  third  century  B.C.^^  There  is  no  doubt  that  much 
communication  existed  also  earlier  between  the  two  islands,  as  Rhodes 
furnished  a  convenient  port  at  which  ''to  get  water  and  rest  before 
making  the  long  sail  to  Egypt. "^^ 

With  the  history  of  Asia  Minor,  that  of  Lesbos  was  interwoven 
even  from  a  period  before  the  time  of  the  Trojan  War,  when  Achilles 
stormed  the  Lesbian  towns,  killed  the  heroes  Lampetus"  and  Tram- 
belus,"^^  and  carried  off  the  seven  Lesbian  maidens.  Through  the 
colonies  founded  on  the  mainland,  as  has  already  been  said,  she 
came  into  contact  especially  with  the  peoples  of  Asia.  When  the 
Persian  kingdom  gained  its  great  power  under  Darius,  the  Persian 
fleet  easily  subdued  the  islands  Chios,  Lesbos  and  Tenedos;^^  so 
that  when  Xerxes  sent  his  expedition  against  Greece,  the  Lesbians 
together  with  the  other  Aeolians  furnished  sixty  ships. ^'^ 

But  when  the  Greeks  defeated  the  Persians  in  429  B.C.,  Lesbos 
was  received  into  the  Greek  federation.^!  From  that  time,  for  almost 
two  centuries  her  face  was  turned  towards  the  West,  and  Athens, 
Sparta  or  Macedonia  determined  her  course.  Nevertheless  her  rela- 
tions with  the  cities  of  the  Asia  Minor  coast,  both  Aeolic  and  Ionic, 
must  have  still  been  very  close.  In  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century,  for  instance,  an  inscription  tells  that  Mytilene  made  an 
agreement  with  Phocaea  about  coining  of  money;^^  ^nd  even  from 

"  J.  H.  S.  XXXIV,  1914,  p.  142;  Gardner,  Naukratis,  II,  pp.  47f.     Loeschcke, 
Arch.  Anz.  1891,  p.  18. 

"  Pape,  Wcirterbuch  der  griechischen  Eigennamen,  s.  v.  Aea/Soj.      Steph.  Byz.  s.  v. 
"E^ecros. 

'*  Frank,  Roman  Imperialism,  p.  140. 

"  Papageorgiu,  T65os  Kal  Aka^os,  Leipzig,  1913.     Cf.  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  285. 

^«Cf.  Xen.  Ephes.  I,  11. 

"  Parthenius,  Erot.  XXI=F.  H.  G.  IV,  p.  314. 

'«  Parthenius,  Erot.  XXVI. 

''  Hdt.  VI,  31. 

80  Hdt.  VII,  95.  Cf.  Diod.  Sic.  IX,  196,  who  sajs  40  ships. 

"  Hdt.  IX,  106. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  1.  Cf.  Pistorius,  op.  cit.  pp.  31  f. 


XIV 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


f 


INTRODUCTION 


XV 


the  early  fifth  century  the  coins  show  that  some  arrangement  between 
the  two  cities  must  have  existed  in  regard  to  the  mints.^^  When  by 
the  decision  of  Antiochus  (306-301  B.C.)  the  people  of  Lebedus  were 
moved  to  Teos,  the  two  peoples  chose  Mytilene  as  the  city  to  which 
they  might  refer  cases  about  the  adjustment  of  rights.^  In  the 
first  half  of  the  second  century  B.C.,  Miletus  was  arbitrator  between 
Methymna  and  Eresus.^  When  King  Eumenes  made  pledges  to  his 
soldiers  (between  263  and  241  B.C.),  Pergamum,  Gryneum  and  My- 
tilene were  the  cities  chosen  for  the  erection  of  copies  of  the  inscrip- 
tion.^ Likewise,  in  perhaps  the  second  century  B.C.,  the  people  of 
Pergamum  decided  on  Mytilene  together  with  Athens  and  their  own 
city  for  the  erection  of  an  important  decree.  ^^  In  the  time  of  Marcus 
Aurelius  alliance  coins  between  Mytilene  and  Adramyttium^^  were 
struck;  and  in  the  time  of  Commodus,  between  Mytilene  and  Perga 
in  Pamphylia.^^  Some  of  the  coins  of  the  time  of  Valerian  and 
Gallienus  show  an  alliance  between  Mytilene  and  Pergamum. ^°  In 
a  decree  of  Mytilene  iroKUaat  KOLvals  may  possibly  refer  to  a  religious 
union  of  Asiatic  cities,  with  the  common  temple  in  Ephesus.®^  Also  in 
the  West  Mytilene  in  Hellenistic  times  was  making  alliances,  as  for 
instance,  with  Aetolia  in  the  third  century  B.C.^^ 

The  defeat  of  Antiochus  by  the  Romans  at  the  battle  of  Magnesia 
in  190  B.C.  was  important  for  western  Asia.  Many  Greek  cities 
obtained  by  it  their  freedom  and  the  right  to  coin  money — among 
them  Mytilene.®^  The  history  of  this  city  under  Roman  control  has 
been  especially  treated  by  Cichorius  in  his  Rom  und  Mytilene;  and 

"  Wroth,  Cat.  of  Coins  in  the  British  Museum:  Troas,  Aeolis,  Lesbos,  pp.  156  f. 

•*  Lebas-Waddington,  Voyage  Archeologique,  IV,  p.  43;  V.  B6rard,  De  Arbitrio 
inter  liberas  Graecorum  Civitates,  p.  51. 

«  Wiegand,  Milet,  III,  no.  152. 

•«  Frankel,  Inschr.  v.  Pergamon,  I,  no.  13,  1.18=  Dittenberger,  O.  G.  I.  no. 
266,  1.  18.  Both  Frankel  and  Dittenberger  date  the  inscription  soon  after  263 
B.  C. 

•'  Frankel,  op.  cit.  I,  no.  251,  I.  40. 
■      "  Wroth,  op.  cit.  p.  214,  no.  232. 

"Wroth,  op.  cit.  p.  214,  no.   235. 
%  »o  Wroth,  op.  cit.  p.  214,  no.  233-4. 

'^  Cichorius,  Athen.  Mitth.  XIII,  1888,  p.  59.  This  expression  may  as  well 
refer  to  the  koi.v6v  Atc^luv.  Plehn,  op.  cit.  p.  59.  Paton,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  30,  reads 
TToXLeacn  Koiva. 

<«  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  15.  Frankel,  Archaeol.  Zeitung,  1885,  p.  150,  dates  194-3 
B.  C. 

"  Department  of  Coins  and  Medals  in  the  British  Museum,  p.  87. 


■#^  '4 


for  the  first  century  by  H.  de  la  Ville  de  Mirmont  in  his  article 
Theophane  de  Mytilene.  ^^  It  is  certain  that  Rome  exerted  a  tremen- 
dous influence  in  the  island  both  through  its  government,  which 
established  a  peace  favorable  to  trade  and  material  prosperity  for 
almost  one  hundred  years,  and  through  individual  Romans  who 
spent  much  time  in  Lesbos.  ^^  In  a  recently  published  inscription 
from  Sinope  (Rev.  Arch.  1916,  p.  355)  there  is  a  reference  to  the  celebra- 
tion in  Roman  times  of  games  at  Mitylene,  possibly  by  the  koivov  'Aaias. 
An  interesting  feature  in  the  history  of  Lesbos  is  that  for  many 
centuries  it  served  as  a  resort  for  the  traveller,  for  the  exile  and  for 
the  student.  In  Horace's  Epistles  Rhodes  and  Mytilene  stand  for 
foreign  travel. ^^  Because  it  had  one  of  the  finest  locations  in  the 
East,  Timotheus,^^  the  Athenian,  chose  to  live  there.  Others  who  were 
attracted  there  were  Aristotle,^^  Epicurus,^^  Persinas,ioo  p  Rutilius,i<'^ 
M'.  Aquilius,io2  Mithridates,^^^  C.  Memmius,  Pompey  the  Great  and 
Cornelia  his  wiie,^^  Sextus  Pompey,!^^  M.  Brutus,io6  M.  Marcellus,!"? 
M.  Agrippa,io8  Germanicus  and  his  wife  Agrippina.^^^  Besides  these 
famous  men  and  women,  there  are  names  of  others  of  less  note, 
recorded  on  grave  stones  and  other  monuments  found  on  the  island- 
people  who  came  from  Europe,  Asia  and  Egypt.^^^   And  not  only  did 

"  Rev.  des  fitudes  grecques,  XVIII,  1905,  pp.  165-206. 

»»  See  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  Index  and  C.  I.  L.  454  and  455  for  Romans  in  Lesbos. 

••Horace,  Epp.  I,  11,  17  (Wickham's  note). 

•^  Athen.  XII,  532  b. 

••  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  II,  1014. 

•»  Hesych.  Onomatologi,  s.  v.  'EiriKovpo^. 

1°°  Callimachus,  Frg.  41. 

1"  Cic.  pro  Rab.  Post.  10,  27;  Val.  Max.  II,  10,  5. 

>•»  Vel.  Pat.  II,  18. 

»«»  Appian,  Mithr.  52. 

''^  Cic.  Ad  Fam.  13,  1.  Vel.  Pat.  II,  53. 

'^  Cassius  Dio,  XLIX,  17. 

i«»  Cic.  Brut.  71;  Seneca,  ad  Helv.  DC. 

'"  Cic.  ad  Fam.  IV,  7;  Val.  Max.  VIII,  11,  4. 

>"•  Tac.  Ann.  XIV,  53;  Suet.  Aug.  66;  Suet.  Tib.  10. 

io»  Tac.  Ann.  II,  54.  Cassius  Dio,  LVI,  27,  says  that  when  Augustus  gave 
orders  that  no  exile  should  spend  time  on  the  continent  or  in  any  island  except 
those  distant  400  stades  from  the  mainland,  Cos  and  Rhodes,  Sardes  and  Lesbos 
alone  were  excepted  for  some  reason. 

""Athens,  I.  G.  II,  ii,  306  and  307;  Syracuse,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  310;  Thebes, 
I.  G.  XII,  ii,  493;  Mende,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  409;  Olynthus,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  202 
(?);  Byzantium,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  443;  Dacia,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  125;  Assus,  I.  G.  XII, 
ii,  435;  Colophon,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  309;  Atarneus,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  362;  Parium,  I.  G. 


^  A/ 


>H 


XVI 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


foreigners  come  to  Lesbos,  but  the  Lesbians  themselves  seem  to  have 
been  great  travellers.  Arion,  Terpander,  Alcaeus  and  Sappho  went 
far  abroad  in  early  limes;  and  inscriptional  records  are  preserved 
which  name  Lesbians  in  various  parts  of  the  ancient  world.  Many 
Lesbians  were  in  Athens/^'  and  others  visited  or  settled  in  Olympia/^^ 
Delphi/13  Nemea,^^-*  the  Isthmus,  Epidaurus,'^^  Moesia,^^^  Leucas,^^^ 
Thessaly,^^^  Samothrace,^^^  the  Troad,^'-*^  Teos,^-^  the  vicinity  of  Pan- 
ticapaeum,^^2  Lydia,^'^^  Syria,^-^  Tenos,^^^  Delos,^'^^  Latium,i^-^  Iberia,^28 
Egypt. ^-^  Some  spent  time  with  Alexander  the  Great,^*^*^  King 
Amyntas^^^  of  Macedon(?),  Pompey^^^  ^nd  Augustus.^^^^  The  frequent 
communication  with  foreigners,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  must  have 
had  much  effect  on  the  Lesbians— an  influence  which  was  felt  in  their 
cults  also. 


XII,  ii,  387;  Pergamum,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  312;  Perga,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  308;  Alabanda, 
I.  G.  XII,  ii,  514;  Nicomedia,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  386;  Media,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  442;  Rhodes, 
I.  G.  XII,  ii,  311;  Alexandria,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  114  and  393;  Sinope,  Rev.  Arch.  1916, 

p.  355. 

Ill  I.  G.  II,  ii,  963;  II,  iii,  2877,  3134,  3230  and  3231;  Robinson,  A.  J.  P.  1910, 
pp.  384  and  391.  Lesbians  were  also  honored  in  Athenian  decrees,  I.  G.  II,  i,  18 
and  I.  G.  II,  i,  ad.  52c,  \.  29=1.  G.  II  and  III,  E.  M.  no.  107. 

11-  Pans.  VI,  15,  I  for  Olympia,  Delphi,  Xemea,  the  Isthmus.  For  Olympia, 
Dittenberger  und  Purgold,  Inscr.  Olymp.  173;  Diod.  Sic.  XI,  48;  Dionys.  Hal. 

IX,  179. 

113 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  388,  also  for  Pergamum,  Theatira  and  Neapolis. 

"H.  G.  XII,  ii,  133. 

116  1.  G.  IV,  951,1.  122. 

ii«C.  I.  L.  Ill,  8213. 

1^7  Athen.  Mitth.  XXVII,  1902,  p.  361. 

118  Rev.  Epig.  II,  1914,  p.  128. 

"»I.  G.  XII,  viii,  162,  163,  and  170. 

120  Athen.  Mitth.  VI,  1881,  p.  227. 

121  Lebas-Waddington,  op.  cit.  Ill,  no.  91. 

122  Latyschev,  Ins.  Ant.  O.  S.  P.  E.  II,  294. 

123  Keil  und  von  Premerstein,  Berichte  iiber  eine  zweite  Reise  in  Lydien,   II, 

p.  2>?>. 

12*  Appian,  "ZvpiaK-ff,  52. 

126I.G.  XII,V2,  1. 

i2«  I.  G.  XI,  ii,  105  and  108. 

127  C.  I.  G.  Ill,  6074  and  C.  I.  L.  VP,  8438. 

128  Anth.  Pal.  VII,  376. 

129  See  pp.  xii-xiii. 

i30Athen.  I.  20a;  XII,  538  e.     Hesych.  s.  v.  AlaxP^o^^-     Diod.  Sic.  XVII,  57. 
Arrian,  Anab.  Ill,  2,  5. 

"1  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real.  Encycl.  VIII,  106. 

132  H.  de  la  Ville  de  Mirmont,  Revue  des  £tudes  grecques,  XVIII,  1905,  pp.  165  f. 

133 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  35a. 


INTRODUCTION 


xvi 


Lesbos  was  long  a  center  of  education,  from  the  time  when  Sappho 
kept  her  schooP^^  until  Imperial  times.  Interesting  is  a  grave  stone^^^ 
which  reads, 

'OKTCOKatSe/cdroi'  jue  KaTapxofJievov  \vKd^avTOs 
apTL  T€  prjTopLKTJs  epya  didaaKOfievov 

Aeapco  h  evdhdpcc  PapvaXyrjs  vovaos  t86iiJLva, 
KOVKeT  €S  ljjLepTr)v  yatav  e^rjv  'E^etjou, 
showing  that  a  student  came  from  Ephesus  for  rhetorical  instruction. 
We  know  that  philosophy  also  flourished.  Aristotle  stayed  in  Lesbos 
for  a  year  and  had  a  school,  in  which  two  of  his  favorite  pupils  were 
Tyrtamus  (to  whom  he  gave  the  name  Theophrastus)  and  Phanias.^^^ 
Epicurus  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  was  head  of  a  school  in 
Mytilene,^"  and  a  letter  of  his  to  the  philosophers  in  that  city  is 
quoted  by  Sextus  Empiricus.^^^  Especially  again  in 'the  first  century 
philosophy  flourished,  when  Lesbonax^^^  and  Cratippus^^^  w*ere  at 
Mytilene.  Hermarchus^^^  and  Echecratides,^''^  and  probably  Leu- 
cippus,^^^  were  Lesbian  philosopers  of  note  also.  Scientific  studies 
seem  to  have  been  actively  pursued,  and  Serenus,^^''  the  mathe- 
matician, as  well  as  Matricetas,^^^  the  astronomer,  lived  there.  Vale- 
rius Maximus  says  that  when  P.  Rutilius  went  into  exile  in  93  B.C., 
all  the  cities  of  the  province  offered  him  refuge,  but  he  chose  Mytilene. 
It  is  likely,  as  Cichorius  thinks,  that  his  choice  was  determined  by 
the  opportunity  to  pursue  his  scientific  studies. ^'^  A  story  by  Aelian^^^ 
shows  excellently  the  value  put  on  education  in  Mytilene.  He  says 
that  when  the  people  of  that  city  ruled  the  sea,  they  imposed  on  all 

134  The  tradition  still  lingers.  By  the  church  of  St.  Therapon  are  ruins  which 
Koldewey  saw  pointed  out  as  a  temple  of  Apollo  or  the  school  of  Sappho.  Kolde- 
wey,  op.  cit.  p.  9. 

'^  C.  I.  G.  II,  3019=  Anth.  Pal.  App.  II,  241. 

i'"  See  Plehn,  op.  cit.  pp.  214  f. 

1"  Hesych.  s.  v.  'EttLkovpo^;  Diog.  Laert.  X,  9. 

^'*  Sex.  Emp.  adv.  math.  4. 

"*  Cichorius,  Rom  und  Mytilene,  p.  65. 

»«o  Cic.  Tim.  I;  Plut.  Pompey,  75. 

"^  Diog.  Laert.  X,  1. 

"'  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  Mr}dvi.iva. 

1*' Wroth,    CI.    Rev.    VIII,    1894, 
appears  to  be  a  philosopher. 

*♦*  Manatt,  Aegean  Days,  p.  280. 

»«  See  p.  83. 

^**  Cichorius,  op.  cit.  p.  5. 

'*'  Aelian,  V.  H.  VII,  15. 


pp.  226  f.  shows  portrait  on  coin  which 


I 


XVlll 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


revolting  peoples  the  punishment  that  their  children  should  not  learn 
to  read  nor  be  taught  ^ouo-t/cT?.  Aelian  adds  that  this  was  because  they 
thought  that  of  all  punishments  the  most  severe  was  to  live  in  igno- 
rance and  atxovaia.  Ziebarth  infers  that  in  Mytilene  elementary 
schools  must  have  been  public.^^^ 

The  Lesbians  in  early  times  were  renowned  for  their  talent  and 
studies  in  music  and  rhythm  above  most  peoples. ^^^  Perhaps  no 
one  Greek  region  except  Attica  has  produced  so  many  writers  in  such 
varied  departments  of  literature.  Plehn^^^  has  collected  their  names, 
and  to  his  list  it  is  necessary  to  add  only  Anaxion,  son  of  Thrasy- 
clides,^^^  who,  according  to  an  inscription  of  Teos,  won  a  prize  with  his 
satyr  drama,  Persae.  The  Lesbians  seem  to  have  had  great  love  of  the 
beautiful  in  architecture  and  sculpture  also,  and  their  city  Mytilene 
was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  antiquity.  Cicero^^^  speaks  of  its 
beauty,  and  likewise  Longus,^'^^  ^s  late  as  the  fifth  century  A.D.,  still 
praises  it.  The  island  furnished  celebrated  marble  for  building  and 
sculpture,^^^  so  that  temples  and  statues  of  the  gods  were  many,  as 
the  preliminary  investigations  already  indicate. 

The  moral  character  of  the  Lesbians  does  not  deserve  such  high 
praise  as  do  their  mental  qualities  ;^^^  but  probably  too  much  of  a 
derogatory  nature  has  been  said  against  them,  especially  in  anti- 
quity. It  is  very  likely  that  many  of  the  charges  brought  against 
them,  just  as  in  the  case  of  Sappho,  arose  from  statements  of  the 
comic  poets.  Plehn  almost  a  century  ago  expressed  this  opinion, 
and  since  that  time  much  has  been  done  to  remove  the  false  impression 
which  comedy  gave.^^^ 


1*8  Ziebarth,  Aus  dem  gr.  Schulwesen,  p.  26. 

"9  For  a  long  discussion  of  this  subject  see  Plehn,  op.  cil.  pp.  138-169. 
150  Plehn,  op.  cit.  pp.  132-218. 
"1  Lebas-Waddington,  op.  cit.  IV,  91. 

i«  Cic.  De  Leg.  Agr.  II,  16,  40.     Cf.  Hor.  Carm.  I,  7;  Strabo,  XIII,  617. 
i"Longus,  Past.  I,  1. 

15*  Pliny,  H.  N.  XXXVI,  6.   I.  G.  XII,  ii,  11  contains  a  contract  for  the  repolishing 
and  restoration  of  a  temple.     Cf.  Viedebantt,  Hermes  L,  1915,  pp.  34-46. 
1"  Plehn,  op.  cit.  pp.  121  f. 
1"  Plehn,  op.  cit.  pp.  175  f;  Wilamowitz,  Sappho  und  Simonides. 


^^ 


»?^^ 


^ 


*     > 


CHAPTER  I 

The  Twelve  Gods 
A  polio 

Strabo,  having  spoken  of  the  islands  which  are  between  Asia  and 
Lesbos,  says  that  along  the  whole  shore  as  far  as  Tenedos,  Apollo  is 
held  in  veneration,  and  worshipped  as  lltiivdtvs  fj  KiWalos  ij  Tpvuevs  ^ 
TLva  a\\7)v  ewoivufxlav  exo)u.^     The  cults  of  Lesbos  closely  resemble  those 
of  the  Troad,  and  there  is  evidence  that  each  of  these  epithets  men- 
tioned by  Strabo  was  also  applied  to  Apollo  in  Lesbos.^     His  worship 
is  perhaps  the  earliest  that  we  can  trace  in  the  island,  having  been 
established  before  the  Aeolians  came.^     Smintheus  is  not  a  Greek 
word,^  and  the  general  belief  is  that  it  passed  to  Rhodes  and  Aeolis 
from  Crete.5     Apollo  Z/juvdem  seems  to  have  been  a  god  of  agriculture, 
and  originally  a  protector  against  field  mice.«     A.  Reinach  believes 
that  there  was  a  temple  on  the  coast  of  Troas  near  Hamaxitus, 
dedicated  to  a  mouse  god  Sminthos,  before  he  became  Apollo  Smin- 
theus of  the  Aeolians.7     But  the  name  Smintheus  was  by  confusion 
associated  with  the  settlement  from  Greece,  and  among  the  colonists 
of  the  Penthelidae  one  leader  is  mentioned  of  this  name.»     The 
colonists  are  said  to  have  settled  near  Methymna,^  which  is  indeed 
the  region  nearest  Hamaxitus.     Tiimpel,  by  a  very  cleverly  con- 
structed chain  of  reasoning,  decides  that  Chryse,  the  home  of  Chryseis 
of  the  Iliad,  was  in  Lesbos,  where  Chryses  was  priest  of  Apollo  Smin- 
theus.    He  places  the  ''Smintheion"  at  Arisba,  believing  that  with 

'  Strabo,  XIII,  618. 

»  The  evidence  for  Apollo  TpweOs  depends  on  a  restoration,  however.     See  p   3 

'Plehn,  op.  cit.  p.  115. 

*  Wilamowitz,  Hermes,  XXXVIII,  1903,  p.  575. 

^  Illberg,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  IV,  1084. 

«  Preller-Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  255.  Schol.  II.  I,  39.  Cf.  also  A.  J.  P.  XXIX, 
1908,  pp.  97-8,  where  the  epithet  is  connected  with  the  idea  of  destroyer  of  rats  which 
spread  pestilence. 

'  Rev.  Epig.  II,  1914,  pp.  43-4. 

«  Plut.  Sept.  Sapient.  Conviv.  ch.  20.  Another  version  of  the  same  story 
(Plut.  De  Soil.  Animal,  ch.  36)  calls  the  name  Phineus.  See  pp.  39-40.  The  name 
IS  probably  inserted  in  the  story  of  the  Penthelidae  because  of  early  associa- 
tions of  the  name  Smintheus  with  Methymna 

»  Athen.  XI,  466  c, 


XVUl 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


revolting  peoples  the  punishment  that  their  children  should  not  learn 
to  read  nor  be  taught  yiovaiKr).  Aelian  adds  that  this  was  because  they 
thought  that  of  all  punishments  the  most  severe  was  to  live  in  igno- 
rance and  djuotata.  Ziebarth  infers  that  in  Mytilene  elementary 
schools  must  have  been  public. ^''^ 

The  Lesbians  in  early  times  were  renowned  for  their  talent  and 
studies  in  music  and  rhythm  above  most  peoples. ^'^'*  Perhaps  no 
one  Greek  region  except  Attica  has  produced  so  many  writers  in  such 
varied  departments  of  literature.  Plehn^^^  has  collected  their  names, 
and  to  his  list  it  is  necessary  to  add  only  Anaxion,  son  of  Thrasy- 
clides,^^^  who,  according  to  an  inscription  of  Teos,  won  a  prize  with  his 
satyr  drama,  Persae.  The  Lesbians  seem  to  have  had  great  love  of  the 
beautiful  in  architecture  and  sculpture  also,  and  their  city  Mytilene 
was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  antiquity.  Cicero^^^  speaks  of  its 
beauty,  and  likewise  Longus,^^^  as  late  as  the  fifth  century  A.D.,  still 
praises  it.  The  island  furnished  celebrated  marble  for  building  and 
sculpture, ^^"^  so  that  temples  and  statues  of  the  gods  were  many,  as 
the  preliminary  investigations  already  indicate. 

The  moral  character  of  the  Lesbians  does  not  deserve  such  high 
praise  as  do  their  mental  qualities  ;^^^  but  probably  too  much  of  a 
derogatory  nature  has  been  said  against  them,  especially  in  anti- 
quity. It  is  very  likely  that  many  of  the  charges  brought  against 
them,  just  as  in  the  case  of  Sappho,  arose  from  statements  of  the 
comic  poets.  Plehn  almost  a  century  ago  expressed  this  opinion, 
and  since  that  time  much  has  been  done  to  remove  the  false  impression 
which  comedy  gave.^^ 


» 


'**  Ziebarth,  Aus  dem  gr.  Schulwesen,  p.  26. 

^*^  For  a  long  discussion  of  this  subject  see  Plehn,  op.  cit.  pp.  138-169. 
1^0  Plehn,  op.  cit.  pp.  132-218. 
^^^  Lebas-Waddington,  op.  cit.  IV,  91. 

1"  Cic.  De  Leg.  Agr.  II,  16,  40.     Cf.  Hor.  Carm.  I,  7;  Strabo,  XIII,  617. 
"^  Longus,  Past.  I,  1. 

^*^*  Pliny,  H.  N.  XXXVI,  6.   I.  G.  XII,  ii,  11  contains  a  contract  for  the  repolishing 
and  restoration  of  a  temple.     Cf.  Viedebantt,  Hermes  L,  1915,  pp.  34-46. 
1"  Plehn,  op.  cit.  pp.  121  f. 
'5«  Plehn,  op.  cit.  pp.  175  f;  Wiiamowitz,  Sappho  und  Simonides. 


♦r> 


CHAPTER  I 

The  Twelve  Gods 
A  polio 

Strabo,  having  spoken  of  the  islands  which  are  between  Asia  and 
Lesbos,  says  that  along  the  whole  shore  as  far  as  Tenedos,  Apollo  is 
held  in  veneration,  and  worshipped  as  I^txLvSevs  ij  KtXXatos  ij  Tpvpevs  ^ 
TLva  aWrjv  e7ro)vvfxlau  exoov.^     The  cults  of  Lesbos  closely  resemble  those 
of  the  Troad,  and  there  is  evidence  that  each  of  these  epithets  men- 
tioned by  Strabo  was  also  applied  to  Apollo  in  Lesbos.^     His  worship 
is  perhaps  the  earliest  that  we  can  trace  in  the  island,  having  been 
established  before  the  Aeolians  came.^     Smintheus  is  not  a  Greek 
word,^  and  the  general  belief  is  that  it  passed  to  Rhodes  and  Aeolis 
from  Crete.5     Apollo  XfjuvdeOs  seems  to  have  been  a  god  of  agriculture, 
and  originally  a  protector  against  field  mice.^     A.  Reinach  beheves 
that  there  was  a  temple  on  the  coast  of  Troas  near  Hamaxitus, 
dedicated  to  a  mouse  god  Sminthos,  before  he  became  Apollo  Smin- 
theus of  the  Aeolians.7     But  the  name  Smintheus  was  by  confusion 
associated  with  the  settlement  from  Greece,  and  among  the  colonists 
of  the  PentheHdae  one  leader  is  mentioned  of  this  name.«     The 
colonists  are  said  to  have  settled  near  Methymna,^  which  is  indeed 
the  region  nearest  Hamaxitus.     Tiimpel,  by  a  very  cleverly  con- 
structed chain  of  reasoning,  decides  that  Chryse,  the  home  of  Chryseis 
of  the  Iliad,  was  in  Lesbos,  where  Chryses  was  priest  of  Apollo  Smin- 
theus.    He  places  the  '^Smintheion"  at  Arisba,  believing  that  with 

»  Strabo,  XIII,  618. 

»  The  evidence  for  Apollo  Tpwehs  depends  on  a  restoration,  however.     See  p   3 

'Plehn,  op.  cit.  p.  115. 

*  Wiiamowitz,  Hermes,  XXXVIII,  1903,  p.  575. 

'  Illberg,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  IV,  1084. 

«  Preller-Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  255.  Schol.  II.  I,  39.  Cf.  also  A.  J.  P.  XXIX, 
1908,  pp.  97-8,  where  the  epithet  is  connected  with  the  idea  of  destroyer  of  rats  which 
spread  pestilence. 

'  Rev.  Epig.  II,  1914,  pp.  43-4. 
Plut.   Sept.  Sapient.   Conviv.  ch.   20.   Another  version  of  the  same  story 
(Plut.  De  Soil.  Animal,  ch.  36)  calls  the  name  Phineus.     See  pp.  39-40.     The  name 
IS  probably  inserted  in  the  story  of  the  PentheHdae  because  of  early  associa- 
tions of  the  name  Smintheus  with  Methymna. 

»  Athen.  XI,  466  c. 


▼    !*'^P' 


2  THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 

the  destruction  of  that  town  the  cult  passed  on  to  Methymna.^^ 
This  cult  must  have  continued  to  exist  at  Methymna  during  many- 
centuries,  for  an  inscription'^  found  there  and  dating  from  Imperial 
times  mentions  a  prophet  of  Smintheus  {t6v  tCov  y,t\ibv  Troi,7]rr]v  Kal 
Trpoipy]Ty]v  rov  ZyuvBeuis).  A  quotation  from  Myrsilus,  the  Lesbian  writer, 
says  that  on  Mt.  Lepetymnus  (which  is  near  Methymna)  there 
was  a  temple  of  Apollo  and  an  heroon  of  Lepetymnus,  at  which,  just 
as  at  Crannon,  there  were  only  two  ravens,  though  there  were  many 
in  the  regions  near  by.^-  It  would  seem  that  the  Lesbian  shrine  was 
connected  with  the  Thessalian^^  one  by  some  tradition  due  to  the 
colonists  from  Thessaly.  And  so  Gruppe  supposes  the  Lesbian  tem- 
ple to  be  a  "Filiale"  of  the  one  at  Crannon.  It  appears,  then,  that 
in  this  district  of  Methymna  there  were  two  influences  at  work  in 
Apollo  worship,  an  older  represented  by  the  name  Smintheus,  and  a 
later  brought  in  with  the  Aeolic  settlements. 

Strabo  likewise  says  that  there  was  a  temple  of  Apollo  KtXXatos 
in  Lesbos,  founded  from  a  place  near  Thebe,^^  where  was  a  temple  of 
the  same  god.  He  adds  that  according  to  Daes  of  Colonae  the 
temple  was  founded  first  at  Colonae  by  Aeolians,  who  came  by  sea 
from  Greece. ^^  Another  tradition^^  connects  the  founding  of  the 
temple  in  Lesbos  with  the  story  of  Pelops  and  Oenomaus.  When 
Pelops  buried  Cillus,  he  built  by  the  grave  a  temple,  calling  it  that  of 
Apollo  KtXXatos  because  of  the  sudden  death  of  Cillus.  A  scholium  to 
Euripides'  Orestes,  1.  990  (Munich)  calls  Oenomaus  king  of  the  Les- 
bians; and  there  are  several  other  points  of  contact  of  the  myths  of 
Lesbos  with  those  of  the  Peloponnesus.^^  Gruppe's  suggestions^  is 
reasonable  that  the  Lesbian  Pelopidae  imitated  the  celebrated 
Olympian  myth  with  the  use  of  local  tradition.  The  story  of  Pelops 
seems  to  be  employed  here  merely  to  explain  a  cult  name  of  Apollo. 
The  cult  appears  to  have  come  directly  from  Asia  Minor  by  the  head 
of  the  Gulf  of  Adramyttium,  where  there  was  a  town  Cilia,  a  moun- 

^0  Philol.  XLIX,  1890,  pp.  89  f.     See  esp.  pp.  103  f. 
"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  519. 

13  Antig.  Caryst.  17=  F.  H.  G.  IV,  459,  9. 

"  Mt.  Lepetymnus  was  also  connected  with  the  story  of  the  worship  of  Pala- 
medes,  who,  according  to  Gruppe,  came  from  Locris.  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  298. 
i*Cma,  an  AeoHan  city,  II.  I,  38;  Hdt.  I,   149. 
"  Strabo,  XIII,  612. 
i«  Schol.  II.  I,  38. 
*'  See  Introduction,  pp.  ix-x. 
"  Gruppe,  op.  cit.  p.  145,  n.  9. 


^^ 


"♦    «     ^ 


k> 


I 


THE  TWELVE  GODS  3 

tain  Cillaeus,  a  river  Cillus,  and  also  a  temple  of  the  god  near 
Thebe.^^  Robert  thinks  possibly  the  shrine  of  Cillaean  Apollo  in 
Lesbos  may  have  been  an  out-chapel  of  the  Sminthian  god.^^ 

The  third  cult  mentioned  by  Strabo,^^  that  of  Apollo  Vpwevs,  had 
a  celebrated  sanctuary  at  Gryneum.  There  is  evidence  for  the  cult 
at  Mytilene  if  Paton's  restoration  of  the  inscription  I.  G.  XII,  ii, 
239  is  correct.  Because  of  the  space  and  content  [Vpv\veos  elpea  appears 
to  be  the  only  reasonable  restoration. 

Besides  the  very  ancient  cults  of  the  Sminthian  and  Cillaean 
Apollo,  we  find  another  situated  at  Nape  in  the  northern  plain." 
Macrobius,23  after  citing  other  localities  where  Apollo  was  worshipped 
as  a  shepherd  god,  continues,  *'colitur  et  apud  Lesbios  NaTratos^* 
et  multa  sunt  cognomina  per  diversas  civitates  ad  dei  pastoris 
officium  tendentia,  qua  propter  universi  pecoris  antistes  et  vere  pastor 
agnoscitur."  Gruppe  accepts  this  interpretation  and  considers  Apollo 
NaTratos  an  example  of  a  god  of  flocks.^^  The  temple  stood  in  a  dis- 
trict far  from  the  coast,^^  and  the  cult  was  no  doubt  one  of  primitive 
form.  Farnell  thinks  Apollo  NaTratos  may  have  been  a  foundation  of 
the  early  Aeolic  immigrants."  Its  seclusion  and  the  wooded  region 
round  about  (which  the  name  suggests)^^  made  Nape  a  fitting  center 
for  oracles,  so  that  Apollo  became  here  the  god  of  prophecy  as  well  as 
of  flocks.  A  story  told  in  the  scholia  to  Aristophanes'  Clouds  illus- 
trates this.2^  The  account  is  as  follows,  h  Xka^oo  8e  vairalov^'^  'AttoX- 
\o)vos  6  dodels  IleXoTrt,^^  alTOvuTOs  avrov  auad7]fjLa  rod  Oeov  ttjp  apva  Trjv  xp^- 
(TTJu,  erepa  irapexovji  KeLfirjXLa.      tan  5'  ourcos 

6  /SouXoyuat  dos,  /xr)  didov  5'  6  jjlt)  deKoo. 
(pep€L  d^  rbv  xPV<^f^ov  tovtop  'AvTLKXeidrjs  h  rots  Noarots. 

13  Strabo,  XIII,  612. 

2"  Bild  und  Lied,  p.   187.     He  believes  that  Oenomaus  and  Hippodamia,  by 
an    older    tradition,    belong    originally    to    Lesbos. 

21  Strabo,  XIII,  618. 

22  Strabo,  IX,  426. 
23Macrob.  Sat.  I,  17,  45. 

2*  Also  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  ^dirrj. 

^  Gruppe,  op.  cit.  1243,  n.  2. 

2«  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  pp.  35  f.  and  pp.  44  f. 

2^  Farnell,  Cults  of  the  Greek  States,  IV,  p.  223. 

28  Suidas,  S.  v.  NdTrr;. 

2»  Schol.  Ar.  Clouds,  1.  144. 

3°  TovpairaLov  is  the  reading  of  the  MSS,  but  Lobeck,  Aglaoph.  p.  267,  rightly 
emended. 

^1  See  Introduction,  p.  x. 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


The  whole  story  appears  to  have  been  an  invention  of  later  times  and 
the  oracle  given  in  iambic  trimeter  at  such  an  early  date  is  indeed 
suspicious. ^^  Hendes  in  a  dissertation  on  the  subject  of  oracles^^ 
decides  that  it  is  a  forgery.  The  evidence,  however,  for  the  oracular 
power  of  Apollo  at  Nape  is  not  spoiled  by  this  conclusion.  For  the 
story  must  have  arisen  because  of  the  oracle  which  from  very  early 
times  existed  in  this  region  of  northern  Lesbos.^''  Coins  of  Lesbos 
with  NAII  on  the  reverse  appear  to  bear  representations  of    Apollo 

Philostratus^^  tells  of  an  oracle  which  the  Greeks  at  Troy  received 
about  Philoctetes  and  the  bow — an  oracle  from  Lesbos.  And  he 
adds,  "For  the  Achaeans  used  also  the  oracles  at  home,  that  at 
Dodona  and  the  Pythian  and  all  the  celebrated  ones  of  Boeotia  and 
Phocis;  and  since  Lesbos  was  distant  only  a  short  way  from  Ilium, 
the  Greeks  sent  to  the  oracle  there."  The  question  is  whether 
Philostratus  is  right  in  referring  the  oracle  to  Orpheus  and  not  to 
Apollo. ^^  The  two  were  evidently  associated  in  the  giving  of  pro- 
phecy. Lucian  says  that  the  lyre  of  Orpheus  was  put  in  the  temple 
of  Apollo  and  for  much  time  kept  safe  there,^^  and  Ovid  tells  that  the 
head  of  Orpheus  was  protected  from  a  serpent  by  Apollo. ^^  ''They 
say  that  there  (in  Lesbos)  once  Orpheus  was  wont  to  rejoice  in 
prophecy"^^^  before  Apollo  himself  gave  his  attention  to  it.  For  since 
men  no  longer  went  to  Gryneum  for  oracles,  nor  to  Clarus,  nor  to  the 
place  where  was  the  tripod  of  Apollo,  but  Orpheus  alone  gave  oracles — 
his  head  having  just  come  from  Thrace — the  god  stood  over  him  as 
he  prophesied  and  said,  'Cease  from  the  things  that  belong  to  me, 
for  enough  have  I  borne  with  thee  and  thy  singing.'  " 

^'  The  scholiast  believes  that  oracles  in  iambic  trimeter  were  occasionally 
uttered,  but  he  mentions  Apollonius  Molon  as  opposed  to  this  opinion. 

'^Hendes,  Oracula  Graeca,  Dissert.  Philologicae  Halenscs,  IV,  pp.  11-5  (esp. 
p.  15). 

3*  For  a  description  of  Nape  see  R.  Koldevvey,  op.  cit.  pp.  44-6. 

^^  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  60,  no.  188.  Imhoof-Blumer,  Monnaies  grccques, 
p.  280,  tried  to  show  that  here  was  represented  a  long-haired  garlanded  Apollo, 
but   Koldewey   thinks   the   reading  is   very   uncertain. 

3«  Philostr.    Heroic,    ch.    V,    p.    306. 

3^  Philostr.  /.  c.  txpa  5c,  oljuat,  e^  'Opipkoos,  etc. 

^*  Lucian,  Adv.  Indoct.  11  f. 

39  Ovid,  Met.  XI,  55. 

^°  Philostr.  Vit.  Apoll.  IV,  14,  p.  70.  See  also  Jane  Harrison,  Prolegomena 
to  Gr.  Religion,  p.  467. 


«-— > 


^. 


The  cult  of  Apollo  MvpiKalos  should  be  included  when  speaking  of 
oracles  in  Lesbos,  as  the  tamarisk  was  the  symbol  of  prophecy. 
We  know  from  the  scholium  to  Nicander's  Theriaca,  1.  613,  that 
because  his  statue  held  a  branch  of  tamarisk,  Apollo  was  called  by 
this  name  in  the  island — a  name  of  great  significance  and  interest. 
It  was  known  in  only  one  other  place,  at  Corope  in  Thessaly,  where 
the  temple  statue  carried  a  branch  of  tamarisk  in  its  hand,  and  where 
a  peculiar  mode  of  divination  was  practised  with  a  tamarisk."*^  Far- 
nell  rightly  believes  that  a  reminiscence  of  the  Thessalian  ritual  was 
preserved  by  the  Lesbian  cult.  He  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
in  the  north  Greek  tradition  the  prophetic  office  was  regarded  as 
essential  to  Apollo,  and  holds  it  as  a  cause  for  the  many  mantic  shrines 
in  Aeolis  and  the  Troad.^^  jj^  f^^^^-  Apollo  worship  in  Lesbos  is  quite 
in  accord  with  a  northern  origin,  and  it  is  interesting  to  see  that 
Alcaeus  sings  of  the  sojourn  of  Apollo  among  the  Hyperboreans." 

Not  only  was  Apollo  closely  related  to  Orpheus  in  prophecy,  but 
also  in  music,  for  the  lyre  of  Orpheus  was  put  in  the  temple  of  Apollo. 
Terpander^  calls  him  ''Leader  of  the  Muses"  (raJMuaapxo;  AaroOs  vUl), 
and  Sappho^'^  depicts  him  as  leading  the  dance  with  the  Muses  and  the 
Graces.  Alcaeus^^  also  recognized  him  as  god  of  music,  and  the 
coins  show  types  of  Apollo  Citharoedus.^^ 

Also  Apollo  was  early  a  god  of  purification  in  Lesbos,  if  any 
confidence  can  be  placed  in  the  statement  of  Arctinus,^^  ''Achilles 
sailed  to  Lesbos,  and  sacrificing  to  Apollo  and  Artemis  and  Leto,  was 
purified  of  the  murder  of  Thersites."  No  doubt  Arctinus  had  in 
mind  such  a  function  of  Apollo  in  Lesbos,  which  he  used  as  a  basis 
for  his  statement.  But  as  Walter  Leaf  says,  this  idea  of  purification 
from  blood  is  one  of  which  Homer  knows  nothing,  and  must  probably 
be  regarded  as  creeping  in  by  later  tradition. 

*'  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  166. 

^Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  223.  "The  multitude  of  these  establishments  on 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  is  striking  when  we  compare  it  with  their  comparative 
paucity  in  the  Peloponnese  and  in  the  Hellenic  settlements  nearer  the  original 
home." 

«  Himer.  Or.  14,  10. 

**  Terpander,  Frg.  3  (Bergk). 

«  Himer.  Or.  13,  7. 

*«  Plut.  De  Mus.  ch.  14. 

<7  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  58,  no.  173;  Wroth,  Cat.  PI.  XXXV,  14. 

*«  Aethiopis,  Epic  Gr.  Frg.  p.  33  (Ki.).     Walter  Leaf,  Troy,  p.  308. 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


At  Eresus  Apollo  was  given  the  special  epithet  'Epeaios,  according 
to  Hesychius.'*^  This  statement  leads  to  the  logical  conclusion  that 
in  that  town  was  a  special  temple  of  Apollo;  and  Boutan^*^  reported 
that  he  found  sites  of  three  temples  at  Eresus.  But  although  Kolde- 
wey  searched  for  it  he  did  not  succeed  in  locating  the  site/''^ 

At  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  an  inscription  from  Eresus 
prescribes  that  advocates  who  conduct  the  trial  of  the  former  tyrant 
Eurysilaus  shall  take  an  oath  by  Apollo  Au/cetos.^-  The  appearance  of 
his  name  in  such  an  important  connection  leads  us  to  suppose  that 
his  cult  was  a  prominent  one  there.  It  is  useless  to  enter  into  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  contest  carried  on  in  ancient  as  well  as  modern  times 
about  the  origin  of  the  epithet.  It  may  be  that  here  again  we  have 
reference  to  an  early  god  of  herds,^^  though  the  derivation  from  Xvk- 
(Latin  lux)  seems  a  more  fitting  origin  in  consideration  of  the  use  in 
this  inscription;^-*  especially  when  we  compare  the  similar  oath  sworn 
by  HeUus  in  the  same  record.^^  As  the  god  who  announced  the 
SenLTes  of  Zeus  to  men,  so  he  watched  over  the  sacred  right  of  the 
oath;  and  as  protector  of  the  oath  it  was  his  duty  to  protect  agree- 
ments. The  directions  for  the  erection  of  the  decree  are  lost,  but 
perhaps  the  stone  was  set  up  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Eresus.  An 
inscription  of  Roman  times  from  Eresus  gives  a  dedication  to  Apollo, 
but  records  no  cult  name.^^ 

At  Mytilene  inscriptions,  literature  and  coins  all  bear  witness  to 
the  importance  of  the  Apollo  cult.  Here  the  chief  worship  seems  to 
have  been  rendered  him  as  Apollo  MaXoets ;  and  the  name,  according  to 
the  present  evidence,  was  given  nowhere  else  in  the  Greek  world. 
Thucydides,"  when  narrating  the  events  of  the  Peloponnesian  War  in 
428  B.C.,  says  that  information  was  given  the  Athenians  of  a  festival 
of  Apollo  MaX6€ts,  held  outside  the  city  of  Mytilene— at  which  the 
whole  people  kept  holiday.  And  later  in  the  same  chapter  he  men- 
tions a  sanctuary  of  the  same  god.     The  scholium  to  this  passage  is 


♦'  Hesych.  s.  v.  'Epeaios. 

^0  Archives  des  Missions  scientifiques,  V,  p.  322. 
*i  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  p.  25;  Conze,  op.  cil.  p.  28,  n.  L 
"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  526b,  1.  3L 

"  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.   165  and   166,  note  b;   Wernicke,   Pauly-Wissowa, 
Real-Encycl.  II,  59. 

^  Reseller's  Lexikon,  II,  2175  f. 
»I.  G.  XII,  ii,  526  c,  1.  20. 
"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  534. 
"  Thuc.  Ill,  3. 


^n 


^       I:  *»      ▼ 


THE  TWELVE  GODS  '  ^ 

an  important  one,  as  giving  an  ancient  opinion  about  the  origin  of 
the  cult.^^  It  reads  as  follows,  ''Apollo  MaXoeis  is  honored  by  the 
people  of  Mytilene  from  some  such  cause.  Manto,  the  daughter  of 
Teiresias,  when  dancing  in  these  regions,  lost  a  golden  \ir{Kov  from  her 
necklace.  Therefore  she  promised  that  if  she  should  find  it  she  would 
found  a  temple  to  Apollo.  And  on  finding  the  apple^^  she  founded 
the  temple,  and  for  this  reason  Apollo  MaXoets  is  honored  by  them." 
According  to  Stephanus  of  Byzantium,  Hellanicus  derives  the  name 
from  MtJXos,  son  of  Manto. ^^  Disregarding  these  accounts  which  were 
obviously  fashioned  to  explain  a  word  of  which  the  origin  was 
unknown,  many  scholars  derive  MaXoets  from  "sheep,"  and  look  upon 
this  Apollo  as  god  of  flocks,^^  such  as  Apollo  NaTraTos  in  the  northern 
district  is  supposed  to  be.  Several  other  derivations  suggested 
need  not  be  considered.^^-  When  we  look  elsewhere  for  names  of 
Apollo  which  most  resemble  MaXoeis,  we  find  an  important  god  Apollo 
MaXearas,^^  worshipped  at  several  places  in  Greece,  especially  in  the 
Peloponnesus.  By  its  use  in  verse  we  know  that  the  first  a  in  MaX- 
cdras  is  short.^^  If  MaXoets  is  related  to  MaXearas,  then  all  the 
derivations  from  ^r\\ov  may  be  disregarded.  Farnell  believes  that  the 
two  cults  are  related,  and  that  they  originated  from  a  common  center 
called  MaXea.  He  finds  three  places  of  this  name  which  might  be 
considered^^— MaXea  in  southern  Laconia  and  an  Arcadian  district 
which  Xenophon  calls  77  MaXearts  (which  may  have  taken  its  name 
from  a  town  MaXea),  as  well  as  MaXea  in  Lesbos  near  Mytilene.  He 
rightly  excludes  the  possibility  of  a  Lesbian  origin,  and  believes 
that  "the  geographical  distribution  would  well  agree  wdth  the  suppo- 
sition that  it  arose  either  at  the  place  in  Arcadia,  near  Leuctra,  or  on 
the  famous  promontory  of  South  Laconia. "^^     Also  in  Thessalian 


'«  Rev.  de  Phil.  I,  1877,  p.  185. 

"  Wide,  Lakonische  Kulte,  p.  249,  regards  Philomeides  (Od.  IV,  343;  XVII, 
134)  who  was  localized  in  Lesbos,  as  a  descendant  of  Atlas,  and  Hofer,  Roscher's 
Lexikon,  III,  2349,  thinks  he  may  be  connected  with  this  story. 

«°  Steph.  Byz.  and  Hesych.  s.  v.MaXXoets. 

«i  Meister,  Gr.  Dial.  I.  p.  65.  See  Rouse,  Gr.  Votive  Offerings,  p.  45,  n.  6, 
for  epithets  as  god  of  shepherds. 

«  Pick,  Vorgr.  Ortsnamen,  p.  63,  suggests  ^idXTj;  Meister,  op.  cit.  p.  66,  thinks 
it  Semitic  in  origin,  and  thus  accounts  for  the  variation  in  form. 

"Roscher's   Lexikon,    II,    2302. 

"  Wilamowitz,  Philol.  Untersuch.  1886,  pp.  98  f. 

«'  There  is  also  a  promontory  before  the  harbor  of  Phaestus  called  MaXeas. 

••  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  pp.  235  f. 


%  • 


I 


8 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


Trikka^'  was  a  cult  of  Maleatas,  and  Preller^^  thinks  that  this  cult 
originated  in  Thessaly.  It  seems  better  to  suppose  that  the  cult 
came  originally  from  northern  Greece  and  spread  south  and  to  Lesbos, 
just  as  so  many  other  forms  of  Apollo  worship  seem  to  have  come. 

Certain  it  is  that  there  was  a  site  in  Lesbos  called  MaXea,  which 
probably  took  its  name  from  the  cult  of  the  god.^^  The  location  of 
this  place  and  temple  is  a  problem  most  perplexing,  and  one  which 
has  been  repeatedly  discussed.'*^  Strabo"^^  speaks  of  a  promontory 
MaXta,  situated  south  of  Mytilene,  and  distant  seventy  stades  from  the 
city;  whereas  Thucydides,  III,  4,  says  that  the  Athenians  anchored 
in  MaXea,  north  of  the  city.^^  The  punctuation  and  interpre- 
tation of  this  passage  have  been  much  disputed,  the  tactics  of  the 
Athenians  in  the  siege  of  Mytilene  are  involved,  and  the  question  as 
to  how  well  Thucydides  knew  the  geography  of  the  region  has  been 
introduced.'^  The  matter  is,  therefore,  too  involved  to  be  treated 
here.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  Aristotle,  who  spent  some  time  in 
Lesbos,  says  ei^oxXet  8e  (KaiKias)  rov  ^lLTv\r]val(jCiv  Xi/jLeua,  /xdXtcrra  de  t6v 
MaXoevra,^^  which  confirms  the  statement  of  Thucydides  that  a 
MaXea  north  of  the  city  existed.  The  view,  therefore,  that  the  temple 
was  north  of  Mytilene,  near  the  harbor,  seems  the  better  one.^^ 

The  festival  which  Thucydides  brings  to  our  attention  was  cele- 
brated for  more  than  five  centuries  in  spite  of  so  many  vicissitudes, 
for  we  find  it  mentioned  again  in  an  inscription  of  the  first  century 

67  Isyllus,  1.  29. 

"Preller,  Gr.  Alyth.  p.  252.  Preller  also  believes  MaXoets  and  MaXcdras  are 
related. 

•'  Cf.  Steph.  Byz.  MaXXoets"  'KiroWojv  eu  Aea/3aj,  Kal  6  tSttos  rod  iepov,  and  Thucy- 
dides,  Xenophon,   Aristode  and   Strabo  in   the   passages   cited   below. 

7°  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  pp.  14-5;  Classen's  note  to  Thuc.  Ill,  4.  E.  Fabricius, 
Athen.  Mitth.  IX,  1884,  pp.  91  f.,  and  Conze,  op.  cit.  p.  7,  put  6  MaX6ct$  north 
of  the  city. 

"  Strabo,  XIII,  617. 

"  Xen.  Hell.  I,  6,  26-7,  mentions  a  Malea  opposite  Mytilene,  and  the  schol. 
Ar.  Frogs,  1.  2>3,  mentions  Malia. 

"  Plehn,  op.  cit.  p.  18,  thinks  Thuc.  Ill,  4  must  be  wrong.  L.  Herbst,  Philol. 
XLII,  1883,  p.  708,  thinks  the  island  forming  the  oldest  part  of  the  town 
was  Malea. 

7*  Arist.  De  Ventis,  973  a.  Cf.  Conze,  op.  cit.  pp.  7-8. 

7*  Cf.  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  74,  1.  5,  kv  ^iaXdevn  /jidpov,  and  1.16,  4^  MaXeta  A/xttcXcoi/  nopov, 
treating  of  property  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Mytilene;  but  the  exact  location 
is  not  determined.  A  dedicator  to  Hermes  at  Mytilene  was  named  ...  as  MaXoi- 
<rw)s  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  96. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


^  * 


4^"^^ 


h.DJ^  Bresus  is  there  named  as  leader  of  the  chorus  of  Artemis  and 
of  Apollo  MaXoets.  His  festival  was  almost  certainly  in  the  early 
centuries,"  as  well  as  in  later  times,  accompanied  by  music  and 
dancing. 

An  inscription  found  in  the  ''baths  of  Lesbos,"  north  of  the  city,^^ 
reveals  another  name  for  Apollo.  It  reads,  Auro/cpdropos  ee[co  utco 
2e/3d(7Tco]  Kal  'AttoWcovos  Qepnio)  .  .  .,  and  bears  witness  that  Apollo 
must  by  Roman  times  have  assumed  the  cult  name  of  the  more 
famous  Artemis  GepidlaJ^  Farnell  thinks  it  is  conceivable  that  the 
Apollo  QepfiLos  of  Lesbos  was  originally  the  same  as  the  Aetolian  and 
Elean,  and  that  his  cult  had  been  brought  across  the  sea  by  some  Aeolic 
immigrants.  He  would  then  derive  the  name  from  Thermon  or  Thermos 
in  Aetolia.  Farnell  thinks  Apollo  may  also  have  had  his  part  in  the 
panegyris  of  Artemis.^o  But  the  fact  that  Apollo  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  many  inscriptions  concerning  the  festival,  nor  in  any  of  the 
Artemis  Thermia  inscriptions  before  Imperial  times,  leads  one  to 
doubt  whether  his  worship  was  an  old  and  long  established  feature 
of  the  sanctuary.  Here  he  is  apparently  in  late  times  the  god  of 
warm  springs  because  of  his  close  association  with  Artemis,  and  is 
not  connected  with  oaths  and  justice  as  he  was  at  Olympia.®^ 

It  is  very  doubtful  whether  'AXe^cKaKcc,  in  an  inscription^^  found  at 
Mytilene  and  dating  shortly  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  refers  to 
Apollo.  For  in  various  parts  of  the  Greek  world  this  epithet  is 
known  to  apply  to  Zeus,  Athena,  Poseidon,  Heracles,  Serapis  and  Isis. 
From  Mytilene  we  also  have  perhaps  a  dedication  to  Apollo,  but  with 
no  cult  name  mentioned. ^^ 

Near  the  church  of  Saint  Therapon,  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
city,  are  ruins  of  buildings  dating  from  the  third  century  B.C.  to  the 
second  century  A.D.,  where  Koldewey  found  Doric  and  Ionic  columns 
of  different  sizes  and  various  marbles,  several  Attic-Ionic  bases,  etc. 
He  heard  the  ruins  pointed  out  as  a  temple  of  Apollo  or  the  school  of 

'« I.  G.  XII,  ii,  484. 

"  Callimachus,   Frg.   543   (Schneider)   says,  6  5'dd5u}P  MaX6ct5  f/Xde    xop6s. 

''I.  G.  XII,  ii,   104=Ephem.  Epig.  II,  p.  7,  no.  27. 

^»  See  pp.  13-6  for  Artemis  Thermia. 

«°  Farnell,   op.  cit.  IV,  p.    167  and  p.   168,   note  b. 

«^  Pausanias,  V,  15,  7,  suggests  that  Thermios  at  Olympia  was  a  local  variant 
for  the  Attic  Thesmios,  and  designated  the  god  of  law  and  order. 

«2 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  99. 

»'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  94,  of  about  the  third  century  B.  C.  is  perhaps  a  dedication, 
but  the  evidence  depends  on  a  restoration. 


10 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


Sappho;  but  the  first  alternative  may  be  as  untrue  as  the  second  is 
impossible.*"* 

One  of  the  special  phases  of  Apollo  worship  was  as  god  of  the 
calendar;  and  we  are  therefore  not  surprised  to  find  at  Methymna  a 
month  \\to\\6:vlos.^'^  Though  the  inscription  which  records  it  dates 
from  Roman  times,  the  name  was  probably  given  to  the  month  in 
the  very  early  history  of  the  city.  The  month  Apollonios  also 
appears  in  another  inscription,^  which  Paton  excludes  from  the 
Lesbian  Corpus,  but  which  Boeckh,^^  Pottier  and  Hauvette-Besnault,^^ 
Wilamowitz,^^  Preller,^*^  Gruppe^^  and  others  accept.  Other  definite 
evidence  for  the  month  at  Methymna  is  contained  in  an  inscription 
found  at  Miletus,^-  where,  in  a  decree  of  the  people  of  Methymna, 
'ATToXXwi^tos  is  clearly  read  on  the  stone.  According  to  Strabo,'' 
among  the  Aeolians  in  Asia,  one  of  the  months  was  called  Parnopion 
because  of  Apollo  Parnopion.  But  evidence  that  the  name  of  this 
month  was  used  among  the  Aeolians  of  Lesbos  is  lacking. 

In  the  straits  between  Lesbos  and  Asia  there  were  small  islands, 
about  twenty  in  number  (forty  according  to  Timotheus),  called  by 
the  name  Hecatonnesi  in  honor  of  Apollo  "EKaros,  says  Strabo.^ 
But  the  islands  probably  derive  their  name  from  iKarbv,  '' hun- 
dred,"^^  and  not  from  a  local  cult  name  of  the  god. 

**The  Aeolic  ApoUine  worship  was  certainly  powerful,"  says  Far- 
nell,^*^  "and  no  other  in  this  region  appears  to  have  competed  with  it." 
In  Lesbos,  however,  Dionysus  and  Artemis  were  very  close  rivals  in 
the  time  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Farnell  also  points  out  that  the 
worship  ''seems  somewhat  backward  and  local,  and  lacking  in  the 

^  Koldewey,  op.  cil.  p.  0.  Cf.  Conze,  op.  cit.  p.  9;  Papageorgiu,  Uned.  Inschr. 
V.  Myt.  p.  X. 

^  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  505. 

8«  C.  I.  G.  IV,  6850. 

*^  See  his  note,  C.  I.  G.  /.  c. 

«8  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  p.  440. 

89  Gott.  Gel.  Nachr.  1895,  p.  232. 

»o  Preller-Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  868. 

>i  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  298,  n.  1. 

•2  Wiegand,  Milet,  III,  no.  152,  1.  37. 

»3  Strabo,  XIII,  613. 

w  Strabo,  XIII,  618. 

^  See  Jessen,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  VII,  2799  f. 

^  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  168.  Note  Alcaeus'  celebrated  prooemium  to  Apollo, 
Frgs.  1-4  (Bergk),  and  the  epigram  to  Apollo  by  Archias  of  Mytilene,  Anth.  Pal. 
IX,  19,  for  influence  on  poets  of  Lesbos. 


^    ^ 


-i  I  9 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


11 


higher  interests  of  the  Attic,  Delphic,  and  DeHan,  although  Lykeios 
and  Smintheus  acquired  the  usual  political  character  that  marks 
this  divinity.  What  is  perhaps  most  significant  is  the  lack  of  any 
recorded  connection  between  the  Aeolic  and  the  Pythian  shrine." 
The  only  mention  of  consultation  of  the  Pythian  oracle  by  Lesbians 
occurs  in  the  myths.  Diodorus  Siculus  says  that  Lesbus,  son  of 
Lapithes,  son  of  Aeolus,  settled  Lesbos  in  accordance  with  an  oracle  of 
Pythia.^^  And  Pausanias,  in  the  strange  story  of  Dionysus  of 
Methymna,  says  that  Delphic  oracle  was  sought. ^^ 

In  Delos  there  seems  to  have  been  a  great  deal  of  individual  inter- 
est taken  by  the  Lesbians  of  the  third  century  B.C.,  and  several 
inscriptions  of  this  date,  found  at  Delos,^^  praise  benefactors  from 
Lesbos.  Lesbians  likewise  performed  as  musicians  at  the  festival  in 
Delos  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  B.C.^^o  In  June,  1903, 
there  was  found  in  Delos  a  fragment  of  a  treaty  of  the  early  second 
century  concluded  between  four  Lesbian  cities.^^^  No  continuous 
sense  can  be  derived  from  the  mutilated  text,  but  the  final  clauses 
deal  with  the  settlement  of  disputes  between  the  contracting  states. 

Twenty-three  names  of  men  in  Lesbos  are  derived  from  names  of 
Apollo,  according  to  the  tables  given  by  Sittig  in  a  dissertation,  De 
Graecorum  Nominibus  Theophoris,  Halle,  1911,  p.  166.  The  per- 
centage is  higher  than  for  the  names  formed  from  the  cult  of  any 
other  god  in  the  island  except  Zeus.  But  still  it  is  not  so  high  as 
for  most  of  the  countries  of  Asia  Minor. 

Coin  types  from  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  show  the  import- 
ance of  Apollo  worship  in  Lesbos.^^^  j^  fact  the  earlier  autono- 
mous coins  of  Mytilene  (440-200  B.C.)  relate  principally  to  Apollo; 
and  he  is  still  represented  on  coins  of  the  second  and  first  centuries 
B.C.,  though  some  other  types  are  more  frequent.^^^  In  Roman 
Imperial   times  his  portrait  occurs  but  seldom,   especially  in  the 


87 


Diod.  Sic.  V,  81;  Alcaeus,  Frgs.  2-4  (Bergk)  also  has  a  hymn  to  Delphian 
Apollo. 

"  Pans.  X,  19,  3.  L  G.  XII,  ii,  388,  tells  of  a  Lesbian  victor  in  the  games  at 
Delphi.     See  pp.  59-60. 

"I.  G.  XI,  iv,  590,  594  and  623  and  Dittenberger,  Sylloge,'  588,  1.  41. 

^«oi.  G.  XI,  ii,  105  and  108;  Capps,  Trans.  Amer.  Philol.  Assoc.  XXXI,  1900, 
pp.  112  f.  and  Robinson,  A.  J.  P.  XXV,  1904,  pp.  184  fif. 

'''  B.  C.  H.  XXIX,  pp.  210  f.  C.  I.  G.  add.  2265  b,  also  from  Delos,  is  con- 
cerned with  towns  of  Lesbos.     See  also  Tod,  Gr.  Internat.  Arbitration,  p.  39. 

^^  Before  this  date  few  gods  are  represented  on  Lesbian  coins. 

^«  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  kviii. 


<ai^t- 


i{ 


12 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


13 


second  and  third  centuries  A.D.^^^  The  types  are  not  unusual, 
except  that  on  a  stater  of  about  400  B.C./^^  which  in  style  does  not 
closely  resemble  any  other  Apollo  head  occurring  on  coins  of  Lesbos. 
The  expression  is  boyish,  but  the  head  is  more  mature  than  the 
Sauroktonos  type.  On  coins  of  Commodus,  Apollo  is  represented 
with  Dionysus  and  Athena,^*^  and  on  a  Caracalla  coin  with  Zeus 
Ammon.107  Coins  not  only  of  Mytilene,  but  also  of  Alethymna, 
Eresus,  Antissa  and  Nape  represent  Apollo. 

A  Hst  of  the  coins  representing  Apollo  in  Lesbos  is  as  follows: — 
Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  155,  no.  56-57(?);  p.  158,  no.  28;  p.  160,  no.  43-6;  p. 
162,  no.  60(?),  61;  p.  164,  no.  85-94;  p.  166,  no.  101-4;  Eckhel,  D.  N. 
II,  p.  502;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  313,  no.  9-10. 
Mytilene:     Wroth,  Cat.  p.   184,    no.  3-36;  p.  192,  no.  96-105;  p.  201,    no. 
172;  p.  208,  no.  210;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  42,  no.  70;  p.  43,  no.  73-8; 
p.  44,  no.  83,  84,  87,  88;  p.  49,  no.  126,  128;  p.  58,  no.  173;  Suppl.  VI, 
p.  59,  no.  41-5,  46-5 1(?);  p.  61,  no.  60-2;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  503;  Head, 
H.  N.  p.  559  =  J.  H.  S.  1897,  p.  86  and  1904,  pp.  205  f.;  p.  561;  p.  562; 
Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  316,  no.  1-3,  5;  p.  318,  no.  17. 
Methymna:    Wroth,  Cat.  p.  181,  no.  35;  p.    182,    no.    39-41(?);  Mionnet, 
Descr.  Ill,  p.  39,  no.  52;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  55,  no.  28-9;  p.  56,  no.  36;  Head, 
H.  N.  p.  561. 
Eresus:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  176,  no.  1(?);  Head,  H.  N.  p.  560(?). 
Antissa:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  175,  no.  7,  9;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  560. 
Nape:  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  60,  no.  188;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  78,  no.  150,  152-3. 
Uncertain  mints:  Wroth,  Cat.  pp.  174-5(?). 

Tripod-Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  168,  no.  118-21.  Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p. 
189,  no.  55-7;  p.  197,  no.  153-7;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  43,  no.  79; 
Suppl.  VI,  p.  61,  no.  63-4;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  562.  Eresus:  Mionnet, 
Descr.   Ill,   p.   37,    no.   39. 

Artemis 

Because  of  the  proximity  of  Lesbos  to  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  and 
because  of  her  special  interest  in  colonies  and  territory  on  the  main- 
land, we  expect  Artemis  to  be  held  in  high  honor  among  the  Lesbians. 
And  such  is  truly  the  case.  But  the  Lesbian  Artemis  has  more 
characteristics  of  the  Greek  than  of  the  Asiatic  goddess.     With  these 

'^  Wroth,  Cat.  pp.  150-216. 

^*  Wroth,  Cat.  PI.  XXXII,  no.  I;  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  349;  G.  F.  Hill, 
J.  H.  S.  XVII,  1897,  p.  86,  PI.  II,  9.  See  also  K.  A.  McDowall,  J.  H.  S.  XXIV, 
1904,  pp.  205  f. 

^°*  See  p.  66. 

10^  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  208,  no.  210;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  58,  no.  173. 


-4L 


•>  "^ 


two  kinds  of  influence  at  work,  she  becomes  a  deity  of  cults  very  inter- 
esting and  worthy  of  special  investigation.  In  her  high  position  she 
ranks  with  Apollo  and  Dionysus  as  one  of  the  most  important  deities 
of  Lesbos.  ''The  various  streams  of  Greek  colonization  in  the 
Mediterranean  diffused  the  worship  of  Artemis,  and  we  find  it  more 
widely  spread  than  that  of  any  other  Hellenic  goddess;  it  was 
implanted  at  an  early  time  in  Lemnos,  in  the  Tauric  Chersonese, 
and  along  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor. "^ 

We  know  that  one  of  her  earliest  aspects  was  that  of  a  divinity 
connected  with  waters  and  wild  vegetation  and  beasts,  as  in  Arcadia 
and  other  places  on  the  mainland  of  Greece.^     Springs  are  frequently 
found  in  or  near  the  temples  of  Artemis.^     And  as  a  goddess  of  warm 
springs  and  baths  we  find  her  most  important  in  Lesbos.     The  wor- 
ship for  which  we  have  most  evidence,  especially  in  Mytilene,  is  that 
of  Artemis  Gep/xta,  which  seems  to  have  had  the  dignity  of  a  state 
political  cult.^     And  though  the  oldest  inscription  preserved  which 
records  it  dates  from  perhaps  the  third  century  B.C.,  it  seems  to 
have  been  long  established.     The  site  of  the  temple  with  the  baths 
was  at  Thermae,  modern  Thermi,  a  short  distance  north  of  Mytilene, 
and  not  far  from  the  coast.^     This  is  shown  by  the  number  of  inscrip- 
tions found  there,^  and  by  the  ferruginous  hot  baths  which  still  exist. 
Pococke  saw  great  ruins  of  buildings,  particularly  of  a  colonnade 
leading  to  the  baths  from  the  south,  the  pedestals  of  which  remained 
in  his  time."^     The  inscriptions  are  dedications  to  the  goddess.     In  an 
inscription  preserved  only  by  copy,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  103,8  and  perhaps 
found  at  this  same  place,  we  have  mention  of  a  spring  and  a  water 
course— no  doubt  for  the  baths.     The  inscription  reads  as  follows, 
.  .  .  w$  Tav  Kpavvav  /cat  ro  vbpayioyiov  oltto  KeTxpeaz/  'ApreMiSt  Gep^ta  Eua/cow. 
Again,  I.G.  XII,  ii,  106,  which  is  probably  correctly  restored,  gives  a 
like  dedicationfand  reads,  b  belva  r^v  Kpavvav   /cat]    ro  e^  AOro/x[.    .    . 

*  Farnell,  op.  oil.  II,  p.  426. 

2  Roscher's  Lexikon,  I,  559  f. 

'  Springs  of  Thermopylae  and  Astyra,  Marios  and  Phigalea  were  sacred  to 
her,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  II,  1351;  also  springs  at  Corinth,  Paus.  II, 
3,  5;  at  Derion  in  Laconia,  Paus.  Ill,  20,  7;  at  Mothone,  Paus.  IV,  35,  8. 

*  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  168,  note  b. 

*  Conze,  op.  cit.  pp.  16  f. 

*  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  101,  103,  105,  106. 

'  Newton,  Travels  and  Discoveries,  I,  p.  60. 

'Ephem.  Epig.  II,  p.  7=Collitz,  Dial.  Inschr.  no.  259.  Also  I.  G.  XII,  ii, 
105,  likewise  a  dedication  to  Artemis  Qtptila  EOokoos,  is  probably  a  copy  of  no.  103. 


14 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


15 


n 


idpayd^yUijov  (?)  ['Apr€Mt5t  Bep^la]  EvaKoco  Kal  r(b  dafxo:.  As  goddess  of 
warm  springs  and  baths  Artemis  was  worshipped  in  few  places 
besides  Lesbos.^  Hence  it  is  interesting  to  find  a  similar  cult  at 
Baiae,  in  the  valley  of  the  Granicus/^  and  near  Poemanenum"  in 
Mysia.  When  Aristides  Rhetor  was  on  his  way  to  the  Asclepieum  at 
this  place,  he  tells  how  he  composed  many  hymns  to  Aesepus  and  to 
the  nymphs  and  to  Artemis  eepfxala,  who  has  the  warm  springs,  to 
give  him  release  from  all  his  ills  and  to  restore  him.  It  is  very  prob- 
able, as  Gruppe  suggests,^-  that  the  cult  at  Poemanenum  is  a  branch 
of  the  Lesbian  cult.  And  indeed  in  that  region  baths  have  lately  been 
found. ^^  Gruppe  also  connects  Cenchrea,  mentioned  in  I.  G.  XII,  n, 
103,  with  Cenchrius,  a  stream  at  the  temple  of  Ephesian  Artemis,^^  and 
thinks  thev  relate  to  the  Boeotian  cult.  Cenchreae  was  also  the 
name  of  a' port  near  Corinth,  of  a  town  south    of   Argos,^^   and   of 

one  in  the  Troad. 

A  goddess  of  warm  springs  and  baths  could  very  naturally  become 
a  goddess  of  healing  ;i*^  andEuciKoos,  added  to  Sep^la  in  certain  inscrip- 
tions,^^ is  thought  by  Wernicke  to  be  derived  from  aKeo^xaL  and  to 
be  equivalent  to  'EiriiKoos}^  We  find  both  Evolkoos  and  'Ew-qKoos  used 
of  Artemis  in  other  places  of  the  Greek  world,  but  Jessen  and 
Weinreich^^  seem  right  in  believing  that  his  derivation  for 
EvoLKoos  is  not  correct.  Artemis  is,  indeed,  considered  the  god- 
dess of  healing  in  Lesbos  in  connection  with  the  baths,  but 
this  epithet  has  nothing  to  do  with  her  healing  power.  It  refers 
rather  to  a  propitious  hearing  on  the  part  of  the  goddess,  and 
may  be  applied  to  any  deity.  For  instance,  Isis  bears  the  name 
in  another  inscription  from  Mytilene.^^     The  extensive  range  of  the 

»  At  Rhodes,  I.  G.  XII,  i,  24,  1.  4.     In  Achaea  called  Xovaia  and  Xovcnans, 
Collitz,   Dial.   Inschr.    1601.     Welcker,   Gr.   Gotterlehre,  II,  p.  397. 
10  C.  I.   G.   II,   3695e  add. 
"  Aristides,  I,  p.  503  (Dind.).     See  also  Curtius,  Hermes,  VH,  1873,  p.  411; 

Hasluck,  Cyzicus,  p.  102. 

12  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  315. 

13  Wiegand,  Athen.  Mitth.  XXIX,  1904,  p.  284. 
1*  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  pp.  279  f. 

i«  Paus.  II,  24,  7. 
"  Nilsson,  Gr.  Feste,  p.  240. 
"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  101,  103,  105. 

i»  Wernicke,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encyd.  II,  1384;  Farnell,  op.  ctt.  II,  p.  467. 
"  Pauly-Wissowa,   Real-Encycl.   VI,   837.     Athen.    Mitth.   XXXVII,    1912, 
pp.  1  f.  (see  esp.  p.  28). 
"I.    G.   XII,   ii,    113. 


1  /- 


*..^ 


titles  Ei-a/coos  and  'EtttJ/coos  has  been  well  shown  by  Weinreich;^^  and 
it  looks  as  if  Eud/coos  were  due  to  Eastern  influence  in  the  cult.  Her 
healing  power  perhaps  rested  not  originally  with  Artemis,  but  was 
acquired  through  her  connection  with  Apollo.22  It  is  true  that 
Apollo  is  likewise  called  Gep/ztos  here  at  this  sanctuary.  But  though 
abundant  evidence  exists  for  Artemis,  we  have  only  one  inscription 
of  Imperial  times  relating  to  Apollo.  Hence  his  worship  in  this 
cult  seems  to  have  been  a  later  innovation,  because  of  his  close  rela- 
tionship to  Artemis.23 

Her  temple  at  Thermae  was  probably  rich  in  gifts  as  well  as 
dedicatory  tablets,  and  an  inscription  seems  to  catalogue  sacred 
objects.24  The  site  was  also  the  center  of  a  very  important  festival 
of  Artemis  Thermia,  which  doubtless  rivalled  in  importance  that 
of  Apollo  Maloeis,25  whose  sanctuary  was  not  very  far  away.  The 
celebration  was  known  as  the  GepMta/cd  Jlavayvpis,  and  has  survived 
even  to  the  present  day  in  the  festival  of  Saint  Constantine,  held 
at  Thermi,  to  which  come  crowds  of  people  from  the  surrounding 
country.26  The  agonistic  side  was  emphasized,  for  ayo^vodeTai  are 
regularly  mentioned,  but  sacrifices  only  once  recorded."  The 
inscriptions  relating  to  them  are  usually  in  the  form  of  honor  decrees 
in  which  the  senate  and  people  crown  the  priest  and  high  priest  and 
agonothete  and  panegyriarch  of  the  Thermiaca  Panegyris}"^ 

On  the  road  leading  from  Mytilene  to  Thermi  was  found  a  stone 
of  great  interest.  On  one  side  it  bears  the  inscription  MeyoKi]  "Ap- 
xeMis  GepMta  and  on  the  other,  Ueyak-q  "Vvxn  MvtlXtjvtjs.'^^  This  monu- 
ment Baton  believes  to  be  either  a  terminus  stone  or  an  altar  in  the 

21  Athen.  Mitth.  /.  r.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  such  titles  he  says  (p. 
25),  come  from  the  islands,  Asia  Minor,  farther  East  and  Egypt.  In  this  is  shown 
the  predominating  influence  of  the  Oriental  cult. 

"  Schreiber,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  I,  583. 

"   See  p.  9. 

'*  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  13.  The  inscription  is  much  broken  and  only  a  few  items 
can  be  read. 

^  See  pp.  6-9. 

2«  Conze,  op.  cii.  p.  16;  Curtius,  Hermes,  VII,  1873,  p.  411. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  251.  In  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  243,  1.  10=  Collitz,  Dial.  Inschr.  no. 
241,  Collitz  reads  also  dvalon.^  for  Paton's  ^pwj/ats. 

28  There  are  fourteen  of  these  inscriptions  found  at  Thermae,  I.  G.  XII,  ii, 
239-252.  Many  give  the  names  of  priests,  others  of  panegyriarch,  strategos, 
benefactor,  gymnasiarch,  prytanis.     Cf.  Nilsson,  Gr.  Feste,  p.  241. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  270=  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  p.  430,  no.  14. 


.:i  «* 


I  « 


! 


li 


;  I 


!  I 


« 


1 


16 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


precinct  of  the  two  divinities.^''  Preller  and  Wernicke  decide  that 
we  have  here  honored  the  protecting  deity  of  the  city,  and  that 
Artemis  Thermia  and  the  Tyche  of  Mytilene  are  identical.^^  Very 
seldom  was  she  identified  with  the  Tuxat  of  cities,  even  in  Asia 
Minor.^2  Por  Mytilene  the  coin  evidence  of  the  second  and  third 
centuries  A.  D.,  at  least,  is  opposed  to  this  identification.  When 
the  Tyche  of  Mytilene  is  represented  on  coins,  she  often  bears  in 
her  hand  the  term  of  Dionysus,  but  rarely  Artemis.^^  Numismatic 
evidence,  however,  shows  that  Artemis  was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
deities  of  this  period.  The  inscribed  stone  would  appear  rather  to 
be  a  boundary  stone  between  the  precinct  of  the  goddess  Artemis 
Gepfiia  and  the  territory  belonging  to  the  city  of  Mytilene. 

Inscriptional  evidence  also  indicates  how  important  was  Artemis 
in  this  region  in  the  time  of  the  Roman  Emperors.  A  decree  of  the 
senate  and  the  people^^  directs  that  the  penalty  for  disobedience 
to  a  certain  law  be  the  payment  of  a  fine  to  Artemis  Thermia.  It 
was  further  voted  that  this  decree,  perpetual  for  the  safety  and 
protection  and  good  fortune  of  the  city,  be  put  up  in  the  temple  of 

Artemis  Thermia. 

An  inscription  has  been  found  at  Pano-Pyrgi,  another  suburb 
of  Mytilene,  w^hich  according  to  Paton's  restoration  mentions  Artemis 
Thermia,  but  the  restoration  is  very  doubtful.^^  A  second  inscription, 
however,  at  Kato-Pyrgi,^  certainly  contains  a  dedication  to  her,  and 
is  interesting  for  two  additional  epithets.  It  reads,  M€7dX]a"  Gew 
'kprkiiih  e€[pM]ta  'O^iovola.  The  dedication  (a  bronze  statue)  was  made 
by  two  men  in  Roman  times,  in  accordance  with  her  command  and 
oracular  response. 

»o  See  Paton's  note,  I.  G.  /.  c. 

"  Preller-Robert,   Gr.    Myth.   p.    543,   n.    1;    Pauly-Wissowa,    Real-Encycl. 

II,  1369. 

32  Farnell,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  470.     He  cites  as  perhaps  the  only  instance,  the  city 
of  Gerasa  in  the  second  century  A.  D.,  but  in  Pauly-Wissowa,  /.  c.  more  instances 

are  given. 

33  See  p.  76.     One  such  representation  with  Artemis  in  the  hand  of   Tyche 

is  given  by  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  212,  no.  227. 

^  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  67,  esp.  I.  7. 
;      «  I.  G.  XII,  u,  275. 

«» I.  G.  XII,  ii,  108=  Athen.  Mitth.  XI,  1886,  p.  281,  no.  42. 
g^  3^  MtTdXa  must  be  the  correct  restoration  here,  for  the  title  is  also  prefixed 
to  Artemis  Thermia  in  two  other  instances,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  270  and    514.    Cf. 
Bruno   Mueller,  Ukta%  Geds,   Halle,    1913,   p.   332. 


V 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


17 


This  association  of  the  oracle  with  Artemis  is  very  unusual, 
although  prophecy  is  not  entirely  foreign  to  her.  When  it  appears 
in  her  cult  it  is  an  element  borrowed  from  Apollo  worship.^^  Jn 
later  times  the  oracle  of  Pergaia  was  celebrated,^^  and  Artemis 
m^pyala  appears  on  a  late  coin  of  Mytilene  ;'^o  so  that  also  in  this 
case  we  may  have  influence  from  Asia  Minor.  Homonoia,  the  equiv- 
alent of  the  Roman  Concordia,  is  prominent  on  the  coins  of  some 
Greek  states,  but  the  name  is  given  to  Artemis  only  here.^^  The 
epithet  Ueyakri  or  Ueyldri]  is  applied  to  Artemis  in  no  inscription 
of  Greece  proper.^^  There  was,  therefore,  a  combination  of  Roman 
and  Asiatic  influence  at  work  in  this  cult  in  late  times. 

The  cult  of  Artemis  Thermia  seems  also  to  have  been  recognized 
in  the  central  region  of  Lesbos.  A  stone  now  at  Calloni  bears  an 
inscription  dating  from  Roman  times,  which  dedicates  a  dog  to 
this  goddess.43  The  dedicator  is  Claudius  Lucianus  of  Alabanda, 
who  is  perhaps  using  a  Lesbian  cult  rather  than  one  of  his  home  in 
Caria.^  An  inscription  of  about  the  second  century  B.  C.'*^  reads, 
(1.  ^'y^'^lrCiv^v(T[T7)ploiv],{\.5.)Tav]'XpTeiiiv]diTidL  Papageorgiu^e  suggests 
k\d]kT0i  TTpos  TCLP  as  3,  rcstoration  for  line  4.  The  inscription  is  entirely 
too  fragmentary  to  decide  what  relation  the  word  pLvaTrjplccv  bears 
to  Artemis  two  lines  below;  but  Nilsson^^  ^^j^ks  perhaps  rightly 
that  there  is  reference  to  mysteries  of  Artemis  in  Mytilene.  It  is 
very  true  that  in  some  places,  for  example  Arcadia,^^  Artemis  enters 
into  close  association  with  Demeter  and  Despoena.  And  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  dog,^9  representations  of  a  dog  or  torch  on  Artemis  coins,^^ 

»« Wernicke,    Pauly-Wissowa,    Real-Encycl.    II,    1353. 

"Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  II,  1397. 

*°  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  505. 

"  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  VIII,  2265  f.  (esp.  2268). 

**  In  Greece  itself  seldom  was  any  Greek  god  named  by  this  epithet,  but 
almost  all  the  gods  received  by  the  Greeks  are  called  ^ey&Xoi  and  nkycaToi.  Muel- 
ler, op.  cit.  pp.  307  and  331. 

«L  G.  XII,  ii,  514. 

*"  It  is  not  clear  where  the  stone  was  originally  found,  but  the  probability  is 
that  it  stood  in  the  village  Daphnia  (Calloni),  where  it  now  is.  Paton  would 
believe  it  was  brought  from  Thermae,  were  the  distance  not  so  great. 

« I.  G.  XII,  ii,  26. 

*«  Papageorgiu,  'Apx-  'E<p.  1913,  p.  225. 

*'  Nilsson,  Gr.  Teste,  p.  241. 

"  For  examples  see  Farnell,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  455  and  Roscher's  Lexikon,  I,  570  f. 

*»  Bruno  Mueller,  op.  cit.  p.  333,  believes  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  514  shows  Artemis  in 
the  character  of  Hecate. 

"  See  pp.  21-2. 


!|i! 


•M»wpw»*"«i«l 


18 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


HI' 


the  mention  of  mysteries,  and  a  relief  portraying  Artemis-Hecate, 
found  at  Plagia,^^  ail  tend  to  prove  that  in  late  times,  at  any  rate, 
Artemis  had  some  of  the  characteristics  of  Hecate. 

An  inscription  of  Hiera-^-  names  Bresus  as  ras  re  Wpre^iidos  Kal 
'AttoXXcows  Ma\i6ev)ros  dpxixopos.  Paton  thinks  that  perhaps  Artemis 
is  here  called  MaXbeaaaP  It  seems  much  more  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  MaX6€ts  apphes  only  to  Apollo,  and  that  the  Artemis  desig- 
nated is  Artemis  OepMia,  who  had  her  sanctuary  in  a  region  not 
far  distant  from  the  Apollo  temple.^^  If  Artemis  MaXoeaaa  were 
intended,  she  would  scarcely  be  mentioned  before  the  more  famous 
Apollo  of  that  name.  Song  and  dance  were  evidently  a  feature  of 
the  festival  of  the  goddess  also. 

Besides  the  very  prominent  Artemis  Thermia,  we  have  record 
of  another  cult  of  Artemis  in  Mytilene,  through  an  inscription  dating 
about  the  third  century  B.  C.,°^  and  found  on  the  south  slope  of 
the  citadel,  .  .  .  Irdco  'Ep/iob^'eta  'AprefndL  AWoma.  We  know  also  from 
an  epigram  attributed  to  Sappho,^^  that  Artemis  had  the  name 
A^^OTfta  in  Lesbos.  An  early  cult  of  the  goddess,  brought  over  the 
sea  from  Greece  seems  here  designated.  In  Stephanus  we  find, 
Aldiomov^'  xwptoi^  Avdias  irapa  "TXXco  r\  Tv\if](JLOv  rov  EuptTrou,  d<^*  ov  i) 
"Apre/xis  Ai^ioTTta.  olde,  on  irapa  rots  AWloxPl  dtayovaap  'AiroWoiv  iiyayev 
avT7]v.  ol  8^  T7JV  avrr]V  rfj  ae\i]vxi,  irapa  to  aWetP,  cbs  KaXXtMctXos.  ol  bk,  6tl 
ij  avT-f)  eari  rfj  'EKarr;  vtls  ael  5^5as  Karex^t  ws   'EpaToadeu-qs-^^ 

It  is  ''hazardous  to  refer  all  words  that  denote  fire  or  brightness 
to  the  celestial  bodies  off-hand,  and  to  conclude  that  At^oTrta  must 
refer  to  the  bright  faced  goddess  of  the  moon."^^  It  has  just  been 
said  that  Artemis  had  some  of  the  characteristics  of  Hecate  in  Lesbos. 
But  it  is  much  more  likely  that  this  cult  had  some  connection  with 

"  See  p.  21. 

82  1.  G.  XII,  ii,  484,  11.  18-20.     The  inscription  dates  from  the  first  century 

A.  D.     Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  II,  1353. 
"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  Index,  "Res  Sacrae,"  "Apre/iis. 
"  See  pp.  6-9. 
"  I.    G.   XII,   ii,   92;    Rev.   des  fitudes  grecques,  V,  1892,  p.   413;  Bechtel, 

Aeolica,  p.  22,  no.  20. 

"  Sappho,  Epigram,  118  (Bergk)=  Anth.  Pal.  VI,  269.  ^ 

"  Dindorf,   Westermann,   etc.   read  AWidinou,   and  by   one  etymology  it    is 

derived  from  AWLoires,  but  AWoiria  is  necessary  in  the  epigram.    See  Pauly-Wisso wa 

Real-Encycl.  II,  1379. 

"  Cf.  Hesych.  s.  v.  Al^toTrirjs  waUa  {aWioirrjs  cod.  corrected  to  aWoirlr}^,  Bentley) 

and  Harpocration,  s.  v.  AidioTLov. 
«»  Farnell,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  457. 


wv;.  ^ 


19 


the  place  Aldomov  of  Euboea,  in  the  region  of  the  Euripus,   as  the 
passage  of  Stephanus  locates  it.     BechteP«  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  this  report  of  Stephanus  is  so  much  the  more  worthy  of 
consideration   as   Poseidon   'EXu/z.^os   seems   to   have   been    brought 
from  over  the  sea.«^     It  also  accords  well  with  what  we  know  of  the 
early  colonization  of  Lesbos,^^  and  with  the  fact  that  this  inscription 
was  found  in  the  oldest  part  of  the  city.     In  connection  with  this 
argument  the  name  Aethiope,  which  Phny  gives  as  one  of  the  early 
names  of  Lesbos,  is  significant.^^     j^  jg  ^^^^  ^^^^  p^^j^^  attributes 
the  appellation  to  the  occupation  of  the  island  by  the  Amazons.^ 
But  the  importation  of  the  name  from  Euboea  seems  more  suited 
to  the  facts  of  the  case.     The  early  importance  of  the  cult  of  Artemis 
AWoTria  would  then  be  naturally  inferred. 

For  Methymna,  Clement  of  Alexandria'^^  records   an   epithet    of 
Artemis  which  is  very  puzzling  when  he  says,  KouduXlns  h  MrjdvfjLujj 
trkpa  reTL^rjTai  "AprefiLs.      Attempts    to    explain  KopdvXlrts    are    very 
unsatisfactory.^^  It  is  by  some  associated  with  the  epithet  KoudvXedns 
which  belonged  to  Artemis  at  Condylea  in  Arcadia.     There  we  have 
the  curious  story  as  told  by  Pausanias,^^ ^f  the  ''Strangled  Artemis," 
which    Farnell    considers    a    vegetation    deity.     Usener    suggests 'a 
derivation  from  Candaules  for  both  Arcadian  and  Lesbian  goddess.^^ 
Curtius  derives  the  name  from  KopduXoofxat  ''to  swell, "^^  and  believes 
that  she  was  a  divinity  of  the  heights  and  mountains.     At  present 
we  have  not  enough  evidence  to  decide;  but  as  the  Arcadian  and 
Lesbian  dialects  are  remotely  connected,  and  there  are  faint  indica- 
tions of  the  Arcadian  character  of  the  goddess  in  Lesbos,  Artemis 
KouovXItls  may  perhaps  be  traced  to  the  Arcadian  goddess. 

«"  Bechtel,  Aeolica,  /.  c. 

''Seep.  41. 

'-  See  Introduction,  pp.  viii  f. 

"  Pliny,  H.  N.  V,  139.     See  Introduction,  pp.  vii-viii. 

«*  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  p.  4.  The  form  Aethiope  instead  of  Aethopie  could  easily 
be  written  because  of  confusion  with  the  better  known  word,  as  the  corrupt 
lorms  in   the   Greek  passages   show. 

''  Clem.    Alex.    Protrep.    II,   38. 

"Wernicke,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  II,  1390,  suggests  that  h  MrjOO^uv 
rests  on  an  error. 

'^.  "Paus.  VIII,  23,  6.  Cf.  Hofer,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  1283.    Farnell  op   cit 
II,  p.  428.  -^ 

"  Rh.  Mus.  XXIII,  1868,  p.  336,  n.  56. 

"  Sitzungsber.  d.  k.  Preuss.  Ak.  d.  Wiss.  1887,  pp.  1170  and  1179. 


1  I 


i  ! 


20 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


From  Eresus  there  is  definite  evidence  of  only  one  cult  name,  and 
that  appears  to  be  a  very  doubtful  reading.  An  inscription^^  records 
the  dedication  of  a  stoa  to  Artemis  Apiivda.  This  is  the  first  occur- 
rence of  the  epithet,  and  according  to  Papageorgiu  it  must  equal 
Apaveta,    taking   its   name   from   dpavos.''^ 

Not  much  emphasis  must  be  placed  on  the  fact  that  Artemis  is 
mentioned  as  a  goddess  of  purification  in  Lesbos.  Arctinus  names 
her  together  with  Apollo  and  Leto/^  but  she  is  probably  introduced 
only  because  of  her  mythological  family  relation  to  Apollo. 

At  the  end  of  the  third  century  the  city  of  Magnesia  on  the  Meander 
decided  to  increase  the  importance  of  its  worship  of  Artemis  AevKo- 
ippvavoL  by  establishing  a  Pan-Hellenic  festival  in  her  honor.  Am- 
bassadors were  sent  to  many  cities  of  Greece  and  the  islands,  among 
them  to  Lesbos.^^  The  festival  is  described  in  lines  12f.  of  the 
inscription  found  at  Magnesia^^  as  'AprejutSt  XevKOippvava.  ha  irkvTt 
heuiv  dvalav  Kal  iravdyvpLV  /cat  kKex^Lplau  Kal  ayCiva  (TTeipavirav  IctottvOlov 
liovaiKov  Kal  yvp,vLK6v  Kal  Itttlkov.  Methymna  and  Antissa  with  cer- 
tainty accepted  the  invitation  to  take  part  in  the  sacrifices  and 
games,  and  either  Mytilene  or  Eresus  likewise  consented.  We 
do  not  know  how  long  they  participated,  but  we  do  know  that  the 
festival  continued  till  the  middle  of  the  second  century  B.  C."^^ 

Besides  the  evidence  afforded  by  inscriptions^^  and  literature, 
the  coin  representations  are  numerous  at  Mytilene,  but  have  been 
found  at  none  of  the  other  sites  except  Nape.  Even  at  Mytilene 
Artemis  was  not  used  frequently  as  a  type  until  the  second  and  third 
centuries  A.D."^^  She  is  usually  represented  as  clad  in  a  short 
chiton,  and  holding  a  quiver;  sometimes  as  riding  on  a  stag  or  in 
a  chariot  drawn  by  two  stags,  or  running  wdth  a  dog  beside  her.  On 
a  coin  of  Valerian' she  stands  before  the  Tyche  of  Mytilene,^^  ^nd  on 
another  Tyche  holds  Artemis  in  her  right  hand.'^^     On  a  coin  of  the 

'0  Papageorgiu,  'Apx-  'E<p.  1913,  p.  227. 

'^  Hesych.  dpdvor  tpyov.  rpa^ts    .    .    .    hvvauL^. 

"  Epic.    Graec.    Frg.    (Kinkel)  p.    33. 

"  O.  Kern,  Hermes,  XXXVI,  1901,  pp.  491  f. 

^*  Kern,  Inschr.  v.  Magnesia,  no.  52. 

"  Kern,  Hermes,  1901,  p.  515. 

^«  In  a  dedicatory  inscription  from  Mytilene,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  91,  Paton  makes  a 


very  doubtful  restoration  ['Aprc/Ln]5( 
much  more  certain,  'Apr[eMt5c]. 

"Wroth,  Cat.  pp.  198-215. 

'» Wroth,  Cat.  p.  212,  no.  226. 

7»  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  212,  no.  227. 


In  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  253,  the  restoration  is 


« 


^ 


ir  ^  ^ 


(>^* 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


21 


Emperor  Commodus  the  figure  of  Artemis  of  Perga  wearing  a  chiton, 
with  a  diplois,  veil  and  modius,  and  holding  in  her  right  hand  a 
scepter  (?),  in  her  left  a  torch,  stands  before  the  Tyche  of  Mytilene. «« 
A  coin  of  Hadrian  shows  her  holding  a  long  torch  with  both  hands  ^' 
The  influence  of  Artemis  of  Ephesus^^  and  Artemis  of  Pergamum,^ 
who  are  depicted  on  alliance  coins,  doubtless  spread  in  later  times. 
Two  representations  of  Artemis  in  sculpture  have  been  found  in 
Lesbos.     One  is  the  best  piece  of  Lesbian  sculpture  yet  discovered.^^ 
It  IS  under  life  size,  measuring  only  1.07  m,  and  represents  the  goddess 
leamng  on  a  pillar.     Her  left  hand  is  on  her  hip,  her  legs  are  crossed, 
and  the  right  calf  and  ankle  appear  swollen,  according  to  Salomon 
Remach.     He  says  the  statue  belongs  to  a  variety  of  the  Artemis 
type  which  is  not  often  to  be  met  with,  and  one  which  is  greatly 
mfluenced  by  the  kindred  type  of  Amazons.       He  thinks  it   may 
have  been  inspired  by  one  of  the  statues  of  Praxiteles. 

At  Plagia,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lesbos,  was  found  a  slab 
sculptured  in  relief  representing  a  figure  of  Artemis-Hecate,  running 
with  a  torch  in  each  hand,  and  at  her  side  a  hound.  She  is  dressed 
in  a  chiton  reaching  only  to  the  knees  and  girded  under  the  breast, 
and  has  a  small  mantle  about  the  shoulders.^ 

An  inscription^^  from  the  Troad  (near  Tschanakkalesi)  reads, 
kvp.  Qebipikos  MvrL\r)valos  drjpLoreKTc^v,  and  has  to  the  rieht  a  picture 
of  Artemis. 

Nineteen  names  of  people  are  derived  from  the  Artemis  cult 
according  to  the  table  of  Sittig,^^  ^  number  greater  than  is  found 
from  any  other  deity  except  Zeus  and  Apollo. 

A  list  of  coins  representing  Artemis  is  as  follows:— 
Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  164,  no.  83(?). 
Mytilene:  Wroth,   Cat.   p.   192,  no.  96-8,   100-5   (countermark);   p.    196, 

•°  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  215,  no.  235. 

''  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  205,  no.  198  (see  note  about  genuineness);  Mionnet,  Descr. 
p.  51,  no.  135;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  505.    Compare  with  the  sculpture  relief,  below 

''  The  use  of  MeTdXr?  (see  p.  17)  calls  to  mind  Artemis  of  Ephesus.  Repre- 
sented on  Alliance  coins,  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  505;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  46, 
no.    101    (Cybele  between  Asclepius  and  Artemis  of  Ephesus) 

"Wroth,  Cat.  p.  214,  no.  234. 

«^  Found  about  1865,  and  now  in  the  Imperial  Ottoman  Museum  at  Constan- 
tinople.    Only  the  right  hand  and  left  thumb  are  broken.     PubHshed  by  S 
Reinach,  A.  J.  A.  I,  1885,  pp.  319  f.  and  PI.  IX. 

"  Newton,  Travels  and  Discoveries,  II,  p.  12;  Conze,  op.  cit.  p  49 

"  Athen.  Mitth.  VI,  1881,  p.  227. 

"  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  166. 


22  THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 

no.  145-52;  p.  201,  no.  175;  p.  202,  no.  181-2;  p.  205,  no.  193;  p.  206, 
no.  200;  p.  207,  no.  203,  205(?);  p.  208,  no.  209;  p.  209,  no.  214;  p.  210, 
no.  219;  p.  212,  no.  226-8;  p.  213,  no.  231;  p.  214,  no.  234  (Pergamum); 
p.  215,  no.  235  (Perga);  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  46,  no.  101;  p.  47,  no. 
114;  p.  51,  no.  131,  135-6;  p.  56,  no.  164;  p.  57,  no.  171(?);  p.  58,  no.  176; 
p.  59,  no.  178-80;  p.  60,  no.  185;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  58,  no.  39,  40;  p.  60,  no. 
51  (countermark);  p.  61,  no.  60,  65-6;  p.  63,  no.  78-9;  p.  72,  no.  126-7; 
p.  73,  no.  131;  p.  75,  no.  138;  p.  76,  no.  141-2;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  503; 
p.  505;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  562;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  316,  no.  5  (counter- 
mark); p.  317,  no.  13;  p.  319,  no.  21-2. 

Eresus:  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  53,  no.  21. 

Nape:  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  61,  no.  189. 

Quiver-Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  187,  no.  34. 

Zeus 

Though  in  later  times  more  popular  gods  such  as  Dionysus,  Apollo 
and  Artemis  surpassed  Zeus  in  the  importance  of  their  cults  in  Les- 
bos, the  worship  of  Zeus  was  established  among  the  first  and  always 
held  a  prominent  place,  as  literature,  inscriptions  and  coins  show. 
One  of  the  earliest  localities  where  Zeus  was  held  in  honor  by  the 
Greeks  was  Dodona,  and  there  is  a  tradition  which  says,^  "It  is 
said  that  Lesbos  also  was  once  Pelasgian,  and  from  Dodona  is  Pelas- 
gian  Zeus,  according  to  the  poet."  Also  Macar,  the  most  famous 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Lesbos,  about  whom  many  stories  center, 
and  whose  sons  and  daughters  were  the  eponymous  heroes  and 
heroines  of  the  cities  and  mountains  of  Lesbos,  was  called  the  grandson 

of  Zeus.^ 

At  Eresus,  one  of  the  months  'OmoXoiW  seems  to  have  been 
named  from  the  cult  of  Zeus  by  the  early  settlers.  For  in  Thebes 
and  in  other  cities  of  Boeotia,  and  also  in  Thessaly,  Zeus  'O/uoXcbtos* 
was  an  important  deity.  A  festival  and  month  of  the  name  existed 
also  in  Boeotia.*'' 

A  name  which  must  likewise  go  back  to  early  times  is  given  by 
Hesvchius,^  who  savs  that  Zeus  was  called  YA)<py]\xo%  in  Lesbos.  Farnell 

^  There  was  certainly  a  Pelasgian  tradition  in  Lesbos,  Plchn.  op.  cit.  pp.  27-34. 

»Diod.  Sic.  V,  81. 

» I.  G.  XII,  ii,  527,  1.  44. 

*  Suidas,  s.  v.  'OhoXojlos  T^ei";. 

»  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  IV,  2717.  For  Thessaly,  Schol.  Theoc.  VII, 
103.  Month  'OmoXcoios  in  Boeotia,  I.  G.  VII,  246,  I.  3  and  270,  I.  1,  etc.  The 
name  may  go  back  to  Mt.  Homolos  in  Thessaly.  See  Wilamowitz,  Hermes, 
XXVI,  1891,  pp.  215  f.  and  W.  Radtke,  Hermes,  XXXVI,  1901,  p.  45;  Nilsson, 
Griechische  Feste,  p.  13. 

«  Hesych.  s.  v.  Elv^mos.     Cf.  Cook,  Zeus.  I,  p.  350,  n.  8. 


•  r  • 


* 


TEH  TWELVE  GODS 


23 


nghtly  thinks  that  the  t.tle  must  have  alluded  to  the  idea  of  'O.aa 
the  voice  in  the  air  as  his  messenger.'"      Epithets  of  a  somewhat 
similar  significance  occur  on  the  mainland  of  Greece,  and  Studniczka 
suggests  a  connection  between  Euphemus,  Eumolpus  and  like  names 
of  legendary  characters,  and  such  old  cult  epithets  of  the  god  as 

One  of  the  prevailing  ideas  about  Zeus  in  Lesbos  was  that  he  was 
a  god  of  high  places,  an  idea  which  was  very  common  also  in  Greece 
Many  of  his  epithets'  as  well  as  the  lofty  situation  of  some  of  his 
temples  show  this^-    And  we  find  in  Lesbos  both  the  names  "T^.^ros 
and    Txaro,  which  at  first  denoted  the  deity  worshipped   in    high 

froT^'n  ^T-^T'"^  ^  '"°'"'^'  significance."  An  inscription 
from  Mytilene'-  is  the  most  interesting  of  those  containing  this 
epithet.     It  reads,  ^ 

"l-qvl  Bfuv  viraru)  Tavcn-uTrn  Kal  nXovruvi. 
vSi  HoaadacovL  Trava(T<paXioi[i]  6.vk0r)Ki 
Zualjiri  ovpavloLO  Oeov  (jweucra  Trpocoiais 
am  Tai&i  a^erepip,  wavras  foioi-s  5t  Xa/3oOoa. 

Toinaros'^^  is  added  the  second  epithet  ^a..^.O;r,.,"  a  notion  which 
originated,  it  would  seem,  from  Zeus  as  god  of  the  sky,  or  from  the 
situation  of  his  sanctuary  in  a  lofty  place.     From  this  inscription 
of  thanksgiving  alone  we  should  suppose  that  the  three  deities  had 
been  particularly  selected  because  they  were  gods  of  the  storm 
death  and  the  sea  respectively,  by  whose  instrumentalitv  Zosime 
was  saved.     In  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  119,  Zeus  is  also  thanked  because  of  a 
tamily  saved  from  a  storm  at  sea,  and  in  I.  G.  XII    ii    1?6    he  is 
addressed  as  god  of  thunder.      But  in  connection  with  the  inscription 
of  Zosime  a  coin  of  .Mytilene'^  should  be  noted,  which  represents 

'  Farnell,  op.  cil.  I,  p.  40. 

'  Studniczka,  Kyrene,  pp.  114  f. 

■'.^'  ^^^T'  ^"^  '^'''  '"  '"'''  ^'"'  ^P"''  Graecos,  Zutpin,  1901,  pp.  27  f 
'"  Farnell,  op.  cit.  I,  p.  50. 

"  Farnell,  op.  cit.  I,  p.  51. 

n    x^lT^T'^''''.  V"'"^,  ^"'^l^^-  ^-  Myt.  no.8=Athen.  Mitth.  XXIV,   1889, 

^A        ;.     ^.T/  "  '^  '"  '•  ^-  ^"'  "'  "5'  "^'  125,  126,  and  Papageorgiu 

Apx.  •£,,.     1913,  p.  228=  David,  'A.M.  'E^.Tp.  no.  5.  ' 

Z  This  name  for  Zeus  is  very  frequent  in  Boeotia,  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p    13 

David,  op.  ctt.  no.  2,  published  independently  of  Papageorgiu  and  reads 

TraveTroTTTir)) . 

^»  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  504;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  46,  no.  102. 


(> 


24 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


Zeus,  Pluto  and  Poseidon  with  the  legend  Oeol  aKpaloi  MvTLXrjvaiicv. 
''This  tvpe  may  have  arisen  from  the  casual  juxtaposition  of  the 
three  gods  on  the  acropolis  or  on  the  heights  above  the  sea.^^  This 
seems  more  likely  than  that  here  in  Mytilene  we  should  have  the 
notion  of  a  religious  trinity";  though  as  Farnell  points  out,  ''we  may 
discern  dimly  the  idea  of  a  divine  One-in-Three,  for  having  men- 
tioned the  Three  Zosime  adds  that  she  was  saved  by  the  Providence 
of  God."i^ 

At  a  place  called  Hyperdexion  were  Zeus  'Twepbk^Los  and  Athena 
TTTcpSe^ia.^^  These  epithets  were  in  all  probability  due  to  the  situa- 
tion of  the  temples  of  Zeus  and  Athena  in  a  high  place,  overlooking 
one  of  the  towns  of  Lesbos.  This  is  more  probable  than  that  it 
had  the  connotation  of  "superior  to,"  "victor  over,"  and  was  some- 
what analogous  to  the  names  Zwr77p  and  Scbretpa. 

This  cult  of  Zeus  ^corijp,  which  was  so  common  through  the  Greek 
world,  existed  in  Methymna,  according  to  an  inscription^^  of  the  time 
of  Ptolemy  IV,  Philopator  (221-205  B.  C).  In  this  inscription  the 
sacrifice  of  a  bull  to  Zeus  Zc^r-qp  is  recorded.  From  a  passage  of 
Longus'  Pastoral,  IV,  25,  it  is  probable  that  the  cult  prevailed  also 
at  Mvtilene. 

On  the  obverse  of  the  coin  which  represents  Zeus,  Pluto  and 
Poseidon,  there  is  a  figure  of  Zeus,  with  the  legend  Zeus  BovXalos.^^ 
This  is  perhaps  to  be  connected  with  the  fact  that  in  an  important 
decree  of  Mytilene-^  provision  is  made  to  place  a  copy  irpo  ru)  dpui 
^oWevTriplu).  The  adjective  "sacred"  is  probably  applied  to  the 
Bouleuterion  because  of  the  cult  ceremonies  which  took  place  there 
relative  to  the  proceedings  of  the  senate.  Pausanias  reports  a 
xoanon  of  Zeus  BouXatos  in  the  Bouleuterion  at  Athens.^ 


"  Farnell,  op.  cit.  Ill,  pp.  287-8.  For  other  examples  of  Zeus  dfcpalos,  €7rdKpio$ 
and  Kopvipalos  see   Farnell,  op.  cit.   I,   p.    154;    'AKpalos.    Pauly-Wissowa,    Real- 

Encycl.  I,  1193. 

1'  A.  B.  Cook,  CI.  Rev.  XVII,  1904,  pp.  75  f.  believes  the  coin  represents 
Zeus  in  a  three-fold  aspect,  and  traces  the  influence  to  a  prehistoric  Argive- 
Lycian  Zeus  trinity.     Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  pp.  59-60. 

^8  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  'TTrepSc^io^'. 

^»I.  G.  XII,  ii,  498=Dittenberger,  O.  G.  I.  no.  78,1.   18  =  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880, 

p.  433,  no.  21. 

"  Occurs  also  on  coins  of  Valerian  and  Gallienus.     Wroth,  Cat.  p.  201,  no.  177. 

»il.  G.  XII,ii,67. 

»  Paus.  I,  3,  5. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


25 


f> 


In  I.  G.  XII,  n,  239,  there  is  a  probable  restoration  rC,  MacMafKriJpos], 
and  m  L  G.  XII,  ii,  70,  there  is  mention  of  Mat/xaicT^pes.  MaimaC 
tenon,  accordmg  to  Harpocration,23  took  its  name  from  Zeus  Mac- 
Ma^TT^s.  Perhaps  these  two  names  signify  storm  deities,  and  in 
some  way  relate  to  the  Zeus  cult. 

Mkyiaros,  an  epithet  very  naturally  applied  to  Zeus,  occurs  in 
mscriptions  found  at  Thermae  and  Eresus.^^  The  Zeus  cult  most 
easily  tended  to  combine  with  the  cults  of  the  kings  and  emperors; 
and  Mkyiuros,  having  a  general  significance,  was  especially  suited 
to  this  use.  Accordingly  we  find  at  Mytilene  a  prayer  addressed  to 
o  KpanaTos  Kal  ^eyiaros  decbv  Zeus  /cat  6  deos  Ze^aaTos.^^ 

And  likewise  the  inscription  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  58,  connects  the  cults 
of  Zeus  and  the  deified  emperors,  if  the  restoration  holds.  Even 
as  early  as  the  fourth  century  we  hear  of  an  altar  of  Zeus  ^lXItttlos 
at  Eresus.2«  And  in  later  times  divine  honors  for  men  were  fre- 
quently signified  by  the  title  Zeus  with  the  additional  epithets 
VUfXTTLos^'^  and  'EXevdepios.^^ 

The  combination  of  Zeus  with  Melius,  Serapis  and  Isis,  which  was 
common  in  later  times  in  Egypt,  we  find  also  in  an  inscription  from 
Mytilene.29  But  this  dedication  to  Zeus  "HXtos  ^kyas  Zapains  and 
V  Kvpa  n<ns  was  made  by  a  citizen  of  Alexandria,  who  was  probably 
honoring  the  gods  of  Egypt. 

The  name  'EXevdkpios  seems  to  have  become  identified  in  Lesbos 
with  Zeus  Ammon.  It  is  found  in  the  inscription  from  Hiera,^^ 
which  records  Bresus  as  Mos  KWeplo,  Kal  "Afifxc^pos  'EXevSeploi  .  .  .  Kal 
rw  Aios  Tu>  MaLuoXUo  Trapeb{p)os.  Zeus  Ammon  was  chief  god  in  Cyrene, 
and  from  that  region  made  his  way  into  Greece.  Here  his  cult  was 
never  very  widespread,^!  but  the  region  about  Mytilene  seems  to 

"  Harpocration,  s.  v.  UaiyiaKT'npLi^v.     Farnell,  op.  cit.  I,  p.  64 

''  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  100  and  542. 

« I.  G.  XII,  ii,  278. 

«•  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  526  a,  1.  5. 

"Hadrian  regularly  assumed  the  name.      It  occurs  in    Lesbian    inscriptions 
of  Hadnan  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  183-97;  and  of  Augustus  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  206,   209 
540,  656.  '         ' 

"L  G.  XII,  ii,  156  (prob.  of  Augustus);  185,  191-8,  214  (of  Hadrian);  163  b 
(of  Theophanes  of  Mytilene). 

"L  G.  XII,  ii,  114.     Seep.  75. 

"L  G.  XII,  ii,  484. 

"  Studniczka,  Kyrene,  pp.  6  and  84;  Wide,  Lakonische  Kulte,  p.  249-   Ed 
Meyer,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  I,  289. 


26 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


ha\  e  especially  welcomed  a.  Of  this  the  electrum  hektai  of  Lesbos 
(440-350  B.  C.)  and  the  coins  of  later  times^-  give  conclusive  testimony. 
He  is  represented  as  horned,  and  sometimes  with  beard,  sometimes 
without. 

The  other  names  of  Zeus  in  the  Hiera  inscription,  AlBepios  and 
MacvoXios,^^  occur  nowhere  else  in  the  present  evidence  from  Lesbos. 
In  fact  MatwXtos  seems  not  to  have  been  used  elsewhere  of  Zeus, 
but  Mainoles  was  often  applied  to  Dionysus  and  his  band.^"*  AWepLos 
is  not  a  frequent  epithet  of  Zeus,  but  the  connotation  is  natural, 
and  is  appropriate  to  his  character  as  god  of  the  sky  and  of  high 
places,  discussed  in  the  preceding  pages. ^^ 

About  festivals  of  Zeus  at  Mytilene  there  is  very  uncertain 
information.  An  inscription"^*'  conferring  honor  on  Augustus  contains 
the  expression  a^Xa  6aa  6  AtaKos  uo/jlos  Treptexei,  but  the  inscription 
is  too  fragmentary  to  learn  the  context.  A  festival  of  Zeus  would 
thereby  be  inferred,"  however.  Likewise  the  gravestone  of  a  pan- 
cratiast  mentions  a  victory  MtTvXrjvrju  'A/jLvcouria  TratScoi^  Kal  ayeveicjov.^^ 
Cagnat  suggests  'A/jLiicovrja,  and  says  it  belonged  to  the  kolvop  'Aatas — 
the  festivals  taking  place  each  time  in  a  city  with  a  provincial  tem- 
ple. The  only  mention  of  Zeus  at  Eresus  besides  Zeus  ^LXlinnos^'^  is 
found  in  that  same  inscription  against  tyrants  of  the  fourth  century. 
In  the  trial  of  the  tyrant  Eurysilaus  the  judges  were  to  swear  by  Zeus 
and  Melius.  As  no  local  cult  name  is  mentioned,  however,  appeal 
is  made  to  Zeus  only  because  of  his  general  function  as  god  of  oaths. 

jMore  names  of  men  are  derived  from  that  of  Zeus  than  from  the 
name  of  any  other  god  in  Lesbos,  according  to  the  tables  of  Sittig.*^ 
This  is  an  unusual  state  of  things  for  territory  about  Asia  Minor, 
but   very  frequently   the   case   for   Greece. 

32  See  Ust  of  Zeus  coins  in  Lesbos,  p.  27. 

"  'ETraiuiio)  is  read  by  Collitz  in  his  publication,  Dial.  Inschr.  no.  255. 

3*  Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  2283-4. 

85  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  1101,  n.  1;  1114,  n.  3.     Cook,  Zeus,  I,  p.  26. 

w  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  58,  1.  8. 

3^  In  the  same  inscription,  1.  15,  ras  5e  xar'  kviavrov  [dvala'>  .  .  .  kv  tQ)  vad 
Tov  Ai6]s  Kal  kv  TOO  Tov  ':^ei3a(TTov  may  mean  that  yearly  sacrifices  were  held  in  the 
temple  of  Zeus,  but  the  restoration  is  by  no  means  certain. 

"  Rev.  des  fitudes  grecques,  1906,  p.  254  =  Cagnat  et  Besnier,  L'Ann^e  Epigr. 
1907,  no.  37. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  526a,  1.  5. 

*o  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  167. 


f 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


27 


Lesbos,  as  far  as  we  know,  took  no  part  in  Zeus  cults  elsewhere, 
but  Pausan,as«  tells  us  that  Archippus  of  Mytilene  won  the  crown 
at  Olympia  and  at  Nemea. 

anl\7"'''''„°'  ^'"  "  ""^  '"'^"^"^  °"  '"^^  °bverse  of  coins, 
and  he    s  usually  represented  as  laureate  and  bearded.     Often  i 
IS  difficult  to  distinguish  him  from  Asclepius  on  the  coins 
Ihe  coins  of  Lesbos  which  represent  Zeus  are  as  follows-— 

Mytilene    Wroth,  Cat.  p.  196,  no.   139  (Silenus  or  Zeus),  140-4;  p.  201 
no.  1";  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  45,  no.  97;  p.  46,  no    101-2    Supp  ' 
VI   p.  66   no^  95;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  504;  Macdonald,  op.    it.  iZp 
317,  no.  12;  Riv.  Ital.  di  Numis.  1908  p  321 

Methymna:  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  40,  no.  59;  p.  42,  no   67 

Eresus:  Mionnet,  Descr.  p.  37,  no.  36;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  52,  no.  16. 

Zeus  Ammon-Lesbos:  Wroth,   Cat.   p.    161,   no.   57;  p.    167,   no.    110-2- 
Macdonald,  OA  at.  II,  p.  316,  no.  6;  Yale  Cat.  of  Coins,  p.  18.  Mytilene^ 

U      '    ;«  ".,-''''  ""■  '*"-''•  P-  '''^'  "°-  '^«-«4;  P-  208,  no.  210  "• 

S8    nTlTf  ^      Tvt'  °''"-  "''P-  **'  ""•  '^O-'^'  P-  45.  no.  98-100;  p. 
58,  no.  173;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  62,  no.  73-6;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II    n    503-  Head 

H.  N.  pp.  559   562    Macdonald,  .,.  ci,  II,  ;.  316,   no. '6-11     p'^llt 

r    „    ,;,     t^  ?■      """•  ^'-  """■  "■  2'  PP-  1219  f.;    1227  f.  Cook,  Zeus 
Tu     F'  u  ,      ^^"■'y™"''-  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  55,  no.  30. 
Thunderbolt-Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  185,  no.  9;  p.  187,  no.  28;  p.  191 

na  80;  M.onnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  43,  no.  76;  Macdonald,  op.  cltU,  p 

1%Z,         Methymna:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  171,  no.  1-9;  Head,  H.  N. 

p.  5o9(?).     Antissa:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  175,  no   I 

Eagle-Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  186,  no.  25(?);  p.  189,  no.  62-5;  Macdonald. 
op.  cit.  11,  p.  316,  no.  4. 

"Paus.  VI,  15,  1. 


f 


.  Hera 
Some  of  the  Aeolian  peoples  seem  to  have  taken  no  part  in  the 
worship  of  Hera.  And  indeed  in  Lesbos  she  was  obviously  not  an 
important  deity,  though  she  met  with  early  recognition.  For  there 
was  held  at  her  sanctuary  a  contest  of  beauty  for  women,  called  the 
KaXXtar.ca,  which  seems  to  have  been  long  established  and  well 
known.  Preller,  Gruppe^  and  others  think  it  was  such  a  festival 
that  served  as  a  pattern  in  the  composition  of  the  "Judgment  of 

'Schol.  II.  IX,  129. 

'  ^™PP«'  G"^-  Myth.  pp.  299  and  636;  Preller-Robert,  p.  163,  n.  3. 


28 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


Paris."  Athenaeus,  quoting  Theophrastus,^  says  that  these  contests 
of  women  about  KdXXos  were  held  among  the  people  of  Tenedos  and 
Lesbos  (just  as  those  about  aojippoavvr)  and  oUovofxla  were  held  in  other 
places),  on  the  ground  that  beauty  also  must  be  held  in  honor.  A 
poem  in  the  Anthology''  describes  this  contest. 

"EXdere  Tpos  refxevos  Tavpcoindos  dyXaou  "HpTjs 
Aea/StSes,  d/3pd  irodiov  ^rjpiad'  l\i(T(T6p.tva.i, 
Ma  KoKbv  (TTTjaaade  Oefj  x^poV  vfifJiL  5'  cnrap^ei, 
ZaTTipo)  xpv^^'-V^  x^P'^'-^  exoucra  \vpi]v. 
"OX^tat  opxiOfjiOV  ToKvyrjOtos'   rj  yXvKvv  vfxvov 
ElaateLV  avrrjs  do^ere  KaXXtoTrr/s. 

It  seems  that  later  Priapus^  became  associated  with  the  festival. 
Hesychius  calls  the  maidens  who  won  Uv\audees,^  from  which  it  is 
likely  that  the  contest  was  held  in  the  region  near  Mytilene,  since 
Pylaeus  was  a  mountain  north  of  the  city."'  As  Tumpel  says,  we 
should  expect  such  a  contest  to  be  associated  with  Aphrodite,  and 
there  seems  to  have  been  an  Aphrodite  of  Callone  in  the  region  of 
Pyrrha.  This  manifestation  of  Hera  is  closely  related  then  to 
Aphrodite,  just  as  in  Sparta  we  find  an  Aphrodite-Hera.^ 

The  proper  names  derived  from  Hera  are  very  few.  Sittig^  records 
only  four,  which  makes  a  lower  percentage  than  for  any  other  of 
the  Olympian  deities. 

The  coins  which  represent  Hera  are  also  few,  and  bear  the  same 
type  in  every  case,  i.  e.,  a  female  head  wearing  a  Stephanos,  and 
sometimes  with  earrings. 

The  following  coins  of  Lesbos  represent  Hera:— 

Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  163,  no.  72-3;  p.  167,  no.  106-8(?). 

Mytilene:  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  53,  no.  144. 

Methymna:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  171,  no.  2-9(?).     Head,  H.  N.  p.  559. 

»Athen.   XIII,   p.   610.     Theophrastus,   a   Lesbian,   is   a   particularly    good 

authority. 

•  Anth.  Pal.  IX.  189. 

»  Suidas,KaXXt<TT€to-  roi^yap  rc^j  KpLuayri,  ret  KaXXtareia  EIptdTrv  ve^pWa  Kai  XPvakriP 

rfjv8'  iS€TO  rpox^v. 

•  Hesych.  s.  v. 

'  Strabo,  XIII,  621. 

•Tumpel,  Philol.  1891,  pp.  567-8,  esp.  note  12. 

•  Sittig,  op.  cii.  p.  167. 


f 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


Athena 


29 


The  Athena  cult  was  especially  important  in  southern  Thessalv 

Athena  m  the  stones  concernmg  the  early  history  of  Lesbos      But 
the  silence  is  due  no  doubt  to  the  fragmentary  nature  of  the  evidence 
The  earhest  recognition  of  her  which  our  present  mater  a     e"^^^ 
IS  shown  by  a  coin^  of  perhaps  the  sixth  century,  repr  s  n^^^^^^^ 
Gor,on.on.     This  is  one  of  the  few  attributes  of  go5s  on  iesb Ln 
coins  dating  before  480  B.  C.^  ^esoian 

Two  of  the  cult  names  of  which  we  have  record  were,  as  far  as  we 

know  peculiar  to  Lesbos.     One  is  Athena  ^T.^pSe^U,  wko  with  Ze" 

Wef.os  was  honored  at  Hyperdexion.3     The  place  is  otherwise 

unknown,  nor  is  it  clear  whether  the  gods  received  their  nals  from 

the  s  te,  or  whether  the  place  was  designated  by  their  cTeJZ^ 

to  7  '^  ^T^"''  '''^'  "^^'^  ^^'^y-     The  same  title  appHed 

to  Zeus  and  Athena  as  sharers  of  a  cult  is  not  unusual.^  ^ 

The  other  name  of  Athena  which  occurs  only  in  Lesbos  is  'I5^.a 
Concermng  her  an  inscription  of  Roman  times^  found  at  Plagia  read" 

'kippoiWa,  'keiiva.  'liiiva.  "tvoKbu. 
The  last  line  cannot  be  satisfactorily  interpreted.     'K^.a  may  be  a 

cult  epithet  of  Athena  cannot  be  explained.     The  form  may  be  due 

IZ""V^  7    r^'  °'  '''  stone-cutter  or  the  proper  reading  may 
be  Ae,.a  A,.a.'    It  seems  preferable  to  keep  the  reading  'kei^va\ii,v[ 
until  we  have  more  information  about  the  subject,  and  to  cons  3 
l^va  as  a  cult  title  of  the  goddess  peculiar  to  Lesbos.     If  '^l 

^:^:^:Xir'  ^~^^^  ^°  -''--  ^^^^  '^-^ 

48ftT  r""',.? "■."•J^"'  ""•  *•    ^'>*  Gorgoneion  occurs  also  on  a  coin  of  about 
tS.  no.  27.  '  ^^'-  "■  '"■  °°-  ''■■  ^""^  '""^  "-<»  <"  Athena,  W^l  Cat   p 

'  About  480  the  famous  staters  and  sixths  coined  by  Mytilene  and  Phnr..» 
began  to  be  issued,  and  deities  became  more  frequent^s  Ces  ' 

Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  •TT(pli(u>p. 

•  Preller-Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  220,  n.  4;  Gruppe,  Or.  Myth.  p.  1217,  n.  3 
century  A.  d'  "'  '''°^°"''^'  ^'^^  '"^^'''-  "°-  "^-      ^ot  earlier  'than  2nd 

•  Kaibel,  Gr.  Epigr.  no.  812,  note. 
'  Kaibel,  /.  c. 


30 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


31 


The  other  epithets  of  Athena  in  the  island  are  common  ones.     At 
Mytilene   an   inscription^   of   Imperial   times   presents  a   dedication 
to  Athena  Scureipa  by  six  people.     This  is  an  epithet  frequently  used 
of  Zeus,  and  suggests  again  her  close  relation  to  her  father  in  Lesbos. 
The  temple  to  Athena  in  IMytilene  probably  stood  in  the  oldest  part 
of  the  city  on  the  acropolis,^  where  two  inscriptions  of  the  fourth  or 
third  century  have  been  found,  which  show  the  importance  of  her 
temple  as  a  repository  for  decrees  of  honor.     One  was  found  at  the 
fort  and  honors  a  citizen  who  helped  the  city  financially. ^"^     The 
other  was  found  on  the  south  slope  of  the  citadel,  and  gives  dreXeta 
and  daiMa  to  two  men  of  Smyrna.^^     The  latter  decree  was  put  up 
in  the  temple  of  Athena  (1.16),  which  must  have  been  ''the  sacred 
treasury"   if   Bechtel's  conjecture^^   ^i^  j^  ipo^  rafji[Uio]p    is    correct. 
A  dedications^  of  a  much  later  date  (second  century  A.  D.)  was 
found   near   this   site.     The   inscription   says,    'Adr^vq.  .   .   .  Br/puXXa 
t6[v  6<pea\fjL6v]{?).     The    restoration    is    made    because    of    the 
picture  of  an  eye  on  the  stone,  just  above  the  inscription.     Dedi- 
cations of  similar  form^^  make  it  possible  that  Berulla  gave  this 
thank  offering  to  Athena  because  her  sight  was  restored.     But  it 
seems  better  to  connect  this  with  the  eye  that  occurs  as  a  type  on 
early  coins  of  Mytilene,^^  and  to  suppose  that  it  was  a  symbol  of 
Athena  in  Lesbos.     Athena  would  then  have  characteristics  of  Athena 
'OivdepK-qs  or  'OipdaXfj.lTLs,  as  at  Argos  and  Sparta. 

In  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  653,  a  vow  which  appears  to  be  incorrectly  copied 
from  the  stone  reads  Adr^va  evae^eoomjv  Map/cos  Uoinn]Los  ROlkos 
iroLTjTTjs  euxej'.s^  Paton  suggests  that  this  may  be  a  dedication  to 
Athen^  'I6T?i'a. 

At  the  town  of  Hiera  on  the  southern  shore,  Bresus  held  the  title 
ras  re  IIoXta5os  'Adava^  irapaKeXevaTas  hirkp  ras  TroXtos.^'     There   was  a 

•I.  G.  XII,  ii,  in. 

»  Where  is  now  the  fortress  erected  by  the  Turks. 

10 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  5  =  Athen.  Mitth.  XIV,  1889,  p.  255,  no.  28. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  12,  esp.  1.  16. 

12  Bechtel,  AeoUca,  p.  4,  esp.  part  B,  1.  53. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  121. 

1*  For  similar  offerings  see  Rouse,  Gr.  Votive  Offerings,  p.  215. 

"  Ridgeway,  CI.  Rev.  IX,  1895,  p.  334,  n.  5,  thinks  the  eye  on  the  coins 
is  due  to  some  Egypyian  influence. 

i«A  restoration  by  Papageorgiu,  Uned.  Inschr.  v.  Myt.  no.  34,  'h\d{kva  is 
too  doubtful  to  be  accepted. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  484,  first  century  A.  D. 


^ 


temple  tor  this  cult  of  Athena  Polias  at  Eresus  also,  for  in  an  agree- 
ment  between  Lesbos  and  Rhodes-  of  the  third  century  B.  C,  found 
at  Eresus  directions  were  given  that  the  Lesbians  erect  a  stele  with 
a  copy  of  the  decree  in  the  temple  of  Athena  Polias.  The  same 
temple  IS  doubtless  meant  when  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  529,  directions  are 

^  T^lTf       ""^  ^"'  '^P>^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^'^^  i^  the  Athenaion, 

At  Methymna  likewise  Athena  was  regarded  as  a  deity  of  health 

TotltT-f  '^."'"'ir;     ^"  ^"^"^P^^^"  "^^^^  P-^-^  Aristophanes, 

for  the  health  and  safety  of  the  ..^^era.  -     The  same  inscription 
directs  that  Aristophanes  be  crowned  every  year  at  the  temple  of 

finH  -""^A.    ^  ^        ''  ^PP'"''  '^  ^'  ^^  ^^^^^^  Soteira,  such  as  we 
find  m  Mytilene,  or  an  Athena  Polias,  such  as  at  Eresus.     Not  only 

IS  her  temple  mentioned,  but  some  annual  celebration  of  a  festival 
may  be  inferred. 

But  the  best  evidence  for  the  importance  of  Athena  at  Methymna 
IS  the  use  of  her  portrait  on  coins  from  the  fifth  century  until  the  time 
A  the  Roman  Empire,  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  any  other  deity. 
Only  her  head,  with  the  crested  Corinthian  helmet,  is  as  a  rule 
depicted.  In  later  times  Dionysusjand  his  symbols  become  conspicuous, 
and  coins  of  that  city  represent  the  two  divinities  together,  some- 
times  with  the  addition  of  Apollo  or  Demeter  (or  Core)  ^i  The 
importance  of  the  cults  is  the  only  reason  apparent  for  the  grouping 

Names  derived  from  the  cult  of  Athena  are  not  so  numerous  as  we 
should  expect.  Sittig-  reports  only  six  out  of  230  names  derived 
from  those  of  gods.  Paton  believes  that  there  was  a  garden  near 
Mytilene  called  'Adrjpddiov.^ 

A  head  of  Athena,^^  of  white  marble,  much  less  than  life  size,  was 
found  m  Lesbos.     The  hair  is  parted  and  shows  in  waves  beneath 

^^  ^-^Papageorgiu,    'P65o.  «ai  Ae.^os,    Leipzig,    1913=  David,    'A.^..   'e.c^,.    no. 
"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  505. 
"The  tribe  AioMs,  of  which  Aristophanes  was  phylarch,  is  here  referred  to 

refers  to  Athena  in  the  words  (II.  6  and  7)  ^p6s  ra  dka 
''Seep.  66. 
»  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  166. 

T  ^}'  ^'  ^"'  "'  ^^  ^  ^""^  P-  ^^'  "°^^  '  ^-     P^^«"  places  it,  however,  in  Index 
I,  Nonuna  Virorum  et  Mulierum. 

Mym^nr'"'"^"'  ^''^'  '"'''''•  "•  ^^''  P-  ""^-    ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^-  ''-  '^^  school  in 


y   ■ 


ill! 


II! 


32 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


h 


■■  i  t 


her  Corinthian  helmet,  and  the  expression  is  pleasing,  almost  smiling. 
The  type  is  that  of  a  young  girl. 

In  the  treasure  lists  cf  the  ''Hekatompedon "  at  Athens,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  there  is  the  entry,'^^  avl3i]vri  eXe^avrim} 
ij  Tvapa  MTjdvfxpaiucu  kirixpi'dos.  Also  another  item''*^  of  357—6  reads, 
are^papos  MvTL\T]PaLuop  apddrjida  aradiidp  A  A  A  A  II  |~  |-  -  |-  I  I  I  I  C. 

The  following  coins  of  Lesbos  represent  Athena: — 

Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  158,  no.  27;  p.  159.  no.  36-7;  p.  163,  no.  71;  p 
164,  no.  76;  p.  166,  no.  105;  p.  167,  no.  106-9;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p 
34,  no.  20;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  51,  no.  12;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  313,  no.5 

Mytilene:  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  44,  no.  89;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  73,  no.  132 

Methymna:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  171,  no.  1(?);  p.  177,  no.  1-6;  p.  178,  no.  9-12 
p.  179,  no.  13-5,  17-26;  p.  180,  no.  28-34;  p.  181,  no.  36-7;  p.  182,  no 
39-40;  p.  183,  no.  43;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  2>^,  no.  42-51;  p.  40,  no 
58;  p.  41,  no.  61-2;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  55,  no.  27;  p.  56,  no.  32-3;  Eckhel 
D.  N.  II,  p.  502;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  559(?);  p.  560;  p.  561;  Macdonald 
op.  cit.  II,  p.  314,  no.  1. 

Eresus:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  176,  no.  8;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  37,  no.  36,  40 
Suppl.  VI,  p.  53,  no.  20;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  560. 

Aegirus:  Head,  H.  N.  p.  559. 

Gorgoneion-Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  151,  no.  6-8;  p.  157,  no.  14;  p.  161, 
no.  52-4;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  558;  p.  561;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  312,  no.  2. 

Owl-Lesbos:  Wroth,    Cat.    p.    158,    no.    29.     Mytilene:  Wroth,    Cat.    p. 
192,  no.  99-105  (countermark);  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  62,  no.  70. 

^  I.  G.  II,  ii,  645,  1.  25  (restored);  646,  1.  10;  673;  676,  1.  22;  716,  I.  11.       . 
M  I.  G.  II,  ii,  699. 


A  phrodite 

Whether  we  consider  Aphrodite  as  of  Phoenician  or  Thessalian 
origin,  her  cult  would  naturally  reach  Lesbos  at  a  very  early  time, 
either  in  the  passage  from  Asia  to  Europe  or  from  Europe  to  Asia. 
In  fact,  in  the  Iliad  she  is  the  prominent  goddess  of  the  Troad  region, 
the  protectress  of  the  Trojans.  A.  Reinach  has  identified  a  site  in 
Asia  Minor  near  Hamaxitus,  where  he  believes  there  was  a  primitive 
temple  to  a  Pelasgian^  goddess  (who  was  afterwards  Aphrodite  of  the 
Lesbians)  and  to  a  mouse  god  (who  later  became  Apollo  Smintheus 
of  the  Aeolians).-     Such  a  close  relation  of  Aphrodite  and  Apollo 

^That  she  was  Pelasgian  is  the  view  also  of  K.  Tumpel  (Pauly-Wissowa, 
Real-Encycl.  I,  2748),  who  has  given  a  very  complete  account  of  Aphrodite  in 
Lesbos. 

»Rev.  Epig.  1914,  pp.  43-4. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


33 


^^^ 


"im,, 


Pyrrha.     He  argues  for  his  theory  by  a  most  ingenious  weaving^ 
of  the  statements  of  Homer,  scholiasts  and  lexicographers.     The 
father  of  Chryse.s  pnest  of  Apollo,  he  traces  to  a  temple  of  Apollo 
Smmtheus  on  the  bay  of  Kallone.  Chryseis  (11.  I)  =  AprLe  (Eupho 
non,  Panhemus,  ch   26;  F.  H.  G.  IV,  p.  335,  2a)=  Chryse-AS  e 
(Cleanthes  of  Assus,^  schol.  BD  (L)  to  II.  Ill,  64).     The  site  of  th 
Aphrod.  e  sanctuary  was  also  then  at  Pyrrha,  on  the  bay  of  Kallone ' 
This  Aphrodue  W,  or  Xp..,"  is  named  by  Homer,  Hesiod,  Stasinus 
irg.  4,  4  K.)   M.mnermus  (frg.  I,  1,  Bergk)  and  Theognis  (1.  1293) 
and  was  doubtless  the  most  important  early  manifestatL  of  Aphro- 
dite.   The  story  of  Apriate's  leap  into  the  water,  as  told  by  Euphorion 
resembles  that  story  in  which  the  daughter  of  Smintheus  leaps  into 

from  Thl"  T       ";''  '"r""''   ^"'  ^^^°  '"^^  ^'->'  °f  SapphJ^s  leap 
aT   ^'^^L^"^^dlan   rock   through  love  of  Phaon.     Gruppe  says 

Aphrodite's  beloved,  Phaon,  was  from  Boeotia;  and  Engel  believed 
that  tales  about  him  in  Lesbos  indicate  that  Aphrodite  was  wor- 
shipped as  a  sea  goddess.' 

Sappho  sometimes  addresses  Aphrodite  or  refers  to  her  in  a  manner 
which  indicates  that  the  goddess  herself  rather  than  a  mere  synonym 
for  love'  IS  meant^  In  fact  it  has  been  suggested  that  Sappho  may 
have  been  the  head  of  a  kind  of  religious  community,  such  as  e.xistej 
at  faros,  devoted  to  the  cult  of  Aphrodite.' 

But  the  evidence  for  her  worship  in  Lesbos  in  historical  times  is  not 
as  great  as  we  should  naturally  expect.  The  only  cult  name  preserved 
IS  Aphrodite  n«0d,,  which  is  contained  in  an  inscription  of  the  third 
or  second  century.'"    In  earlier  times  Peitho  seems  to  have  been  a 

fifi.'  'I"'"''  ^^l^'  **^*''  PP-  ^'-'2"-     ^P^""^''^  K-^W""-  Tlimpel  further  iden- 
t.6es  her  with  Woflia.     Cf.  Rh.  Mus.  XXIII,  1868,  pp.  316  f 

eristence'T^  P ''  f^«""",^"' ^^ieHy  on  a  passage  in  Strabo,  XIII,  606.  and  the 
existence  of  a  Pyrrha  in  Lesbos,  Asia  Minor  and  Thessaly.  But  the  argument 
IS  more  ingenious  than  conclusive.  argument 

'  Plut.  Sept.  Sapient.  Conviv.  ch.  20. 

in  P»^"^t'  f  ^^™''  "'  "■  '*"•     ^''  especially  the  story  of  Phaon  and  Aphrodite 

n  Palaephatus,  «pi  d.i,™,,  XLVIII,  (Myth.  Gr.  IIP.  p.  69);  Aelian    V    H 

12   18,  Serv.  Aen.  Ill,  279.     See  Wilamowitz,  Hermes,  XVIII,  1883,  pp    414  f ' 

and  for  further  references  and  discussion,  Tumpel,  Pauly-Wissowa.T  c 

Sappho,  Frg.  1,  Bergk.  ^  ,       <,. 

p^i'^k^'t,  ^''   ^'"^'•atufgesch.   p.    198;    Edward   D.    Perry,    Gr.    Literature 
Columbia  Univ.  Press,  1912,  p.  77.  "lerature, 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  73=Keil',  Philol.  Suppl.  II,  p.  579,  note. 


34 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


11 


I  : 


I    ! 


separate  deity,  for  Sappho  calls  her  daughter  of  Aphrodite.^^  It 
is  interesting  that  this  manifestation  of  Aphrodite  Ilet^cb  is  found 
elsewhere  only  at  Pharsalus,  and  probably  came  from  Thessaly  to 
Lesbos.^-  The  inscription  gives  regulations  concerning  the  altar  of 
Aphrodite  Ilet^d;  and  Hermes.  It  provides  that  any  bird  be  offered 
as  a  sacrifice,  and  any  animal,  male  or  female,  except  the  pig.  This 
association  of  Aphrodite  with  Hermes  had  a  wide  geographical  range 
in  both  Greece  and  Asia  Minor. ^^^ 

Aphrodite  is  joined  also  with  Athena  in  a  dedication  of  Roman 
times  from  the  region  of  Mytilene,  and  perhaps  has  the  added  title 
'T7rd/coos.^^  This  combination  of  Aphrodite  with  Athena  is  not  so 
common  as  with  Hermes,  but  other  instances  in  Greece  do  occur. 

An  inscription  of  the  time  of  Augustus  from  Kato-Pyrgi,  north  of 
Mytilene,  which  reads,  deco  'A<ppodeiTas  aydXfxa  ev  tcj  etpco.  2i;v/ca^t- 
kpcoaav  ol  ttjv  crKVTLKrji/  T'exvy)v  epya^ojjLevoL  is  a  dedication  to  Aphrodite 
by  a  tanner's  guild. ^^  Lolling  believes  that  the  dedicators  were 
foreigners.  The  temple  mentioned  may  be  one  belonging  to  the 
goddess  in  that  region. 

The  Ionic  temple  at  Messa,  which  has  been  excavated  and  is 
at  present  the  best  known  of  Lesbian  temples,  was  thought  by  Lol- 
ling^^  to  have  been  dedicated  to  Aphrodite,  though  he  admitted  that 
the  evidence  was  slender.  It  is  based  on  a  passage  from  Theophras- 
tus,  Hist.  Plant.  IX,  18,  10,  and  one  from  Pliny,  H.  N.  XXXI,  2,  7, 
which  reads,  ''In  Pyrrha  fiumen,  quod  Aphrodisium  vocatur,  steriles 
facit. "     Here  Aphrodite  was  akin  to  Priapus.^^ 

It  is  very  likely  that  the  Adonis  element  of  the  Aphrodite  cult 
in  early  times  found  its  way  to  Lesbos  from  its  source  in  Syria  and 
Phrygia.  Sappho  composed  a  poem  on  Adonis  ;^^  but  not  till  perhaps 
two  centuries  after  Sappho  did  the  mainland  of  Greece  receive  this 

"  Sappho,  Frg.  135,  Bergk.  For  representation  of  Peitho  as  a  separate 
deity  see  Gerhard,  Antike  Bildwerke,  PI.  59,  1. 

«  Roehl,  I.  G.  A.  327  (fifth  century  B.  C.). 

»  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  I,  2734-55.      See  p.  36. 

1*  L  G.  XII,  ii,  476.  Weinreich,  Athen.  Mitth.  1912,  p.  6,  supposes  'TTdxoos 
to  apply  to  Aphrodite  also. 

»I.  G.  XII,  ii,  109  =  Lolling,  Athen.  Mitth.  XI,  1886,  p.  281,  no.  43.  I.  G. 
XII,  ii,  70,  also  mentions  Aphrodite,  but  is  too  fragmentary  to  make  clear  the 
context.     Cf.  Rouse,  Gr.  Votive  Offerings,  p.  60. 

"  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  p.  59. 

"  Engel,  Kypros,  II,  p.  457. 

i»  Sappho,  Frg.  62-3,  Bergk. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


35 


l-nA 


r 


worship  strange  and  orcriastic  ^^     TV.^   XA^r.-      ^ 
as  a  god  of  vegetation  and  fertility  in  the  island  ^o  worshipped 

titkAohrodrr'^"'^"'"''"'  ^'  '""S'^''^^  J""^  ^^-^^  honored  bv  the 
near  M>  tilene"  but  such  names  were  probably  given  her  because  o 

Ug-  found  only  one  from  the  stem  'A^po^-  and  five  from    he  steL 

a  IS  very  difficult  to  determine  representations  of  Aphrodite  on 
the  coins,  and  none  have  yet  been  identified  with  certainty  Thos^ 
which  possibly  represent  Aphrodite  are  — 

'^tpLX'  '-'■  "■  '"■  -■  ''-'■'  H-<^.  H.  X.  p.  559  (Sappho  or 

Pyrrha:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  216,  no   1-3  CHpiH    r   xt        za^ 

Nvmnh  PvrrKn^    A^     ^       ,  ,         ^  '      '  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^'  ^onsidcrs   t  the 

iN>mph  Pyrrha);  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  320,  no.  1. 

'» Farnell,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  647 
2°  See  p.  37. 
''  See  p.  88. 
"  See  p.  89. 

nn  1^7  f^'^^'^^T:  ^^^^'•^^^^'  II'  P-  47,  PI.  XXI,  no.  786-93:  J   H   S    X    1889 
pp.  127  f.;  Hugo  Prinz,  Funde  aus  Naukratis,  p   57  '  ' 

"Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  166. 


Hermes 

spread,  and  his  cult  does  not  appear  to  have  taken  deep  root  any- 
where except  in  Arcadia  and,  as  numismatic  evidence  leads  usfo 
suspect,  at  Ainos  in  Thrace  and  Eresos  in  Lesbos."  says  Farnell ' 
Eres»!"V\"°'  P^^'"'"^ t  among  the  coin  types  of  Greece  save  at 
i-resus.     But  so  incomplete  is  the  supply  of  inscriptional  material 

'  Farnell,  op.  cit.  V,  p.  1. 


m 


36 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


A 


i  i 


I  . 


■li 


yet  obtained,  that  apart  from  the  coins-  we  have  practically  no  other 
evidence  lor  Hermes  at  that  city.^ 

Although  at  Mytilene  Hermes  seldom  appears  on  the  coins,  the 
caduceus  was  very  frequent  as  a  symbol.  And  here  inscriptions 
make  it  clear  that  Hermes  was  by  no  means  a  neglected  deity.  One 
from  the  third  or  second  centurv"*  contains  a  dedication  bv  twelve 
men  of  a  statue  and  exedrae  to  Hermes  ' Ev ay loulo^.  What  the  statue 
represented  is  not  known.  But  an  inscription  very  closely  resem- 
bling the  Lesbian  one  and  commemorating  the  dedication  of  a  statue 
and  exedra  to  Hermes  and  Heracles,  was  found  at  Melos^  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  place  where  the  Aphrodite  of  Melos  was  dis- 
covered. Furtwangler*^  thought  that  the  famous  statue  of  Aphrodite 
was  dedicated  by  the  Melian  inscription.  The  connection  of  Aphro- 
dite with  Hermes  is  frequent  and  was  recognized  in  Mytilene,  as 
is  shown  by  an  inscription  of  about  this  same  time,  which  gives 
regulations  for  sacrifices  on  the  altar  of  Aphrodite  Peitho  and  Her- 
mes."^ Farnell^  suggests  that  Hermes  might  be  here  a  god  of  luck, 
and  that  the  association  in  this  instance  could  be  explained  ''by  the 
light  and  superficial  reason  that  the  lover  needs  luck  and  address 
to  win  his  mistress."  But  this  combination  must  have  a  deeper 
reason  underlvincr  it,  and  mav,  as  Farnell  more  seriouslv  adds, 
"represent  the  concept  of  a  union  between  the  male  and  female 
powers  of  life  and  generation."^  In  this  sense  Hermes  may  have 
been  used  as  an  equivalent  to  Phales.  And  in  this  connection  we 
may  note  that  in  later  times  it  was  apparently  the  custom  to  pour 
a  libation  to  Hermes  at  the  marriage  banquet  in  Mytilene. ^'^ 

2  The  coins  represent  the  head  of  Hermes  wearing  the  petasos.  See  esp. 
Wroth,  Cat.  p.  176. 

3  Archestratus  (Athen.  HI,  p.  Ill  f.)  says  of  Eresus,  'Tf  the  gods  eat  barley, 
Hermes  goes  and  buys  there  for  them."  The  peculiar  turn  of  expression  may 
have  been  chosen  because  of  the  association  of  Hermes  with  Eresus. 

«I.  G.  Xn,  ii,  96=  Athen.  Mitth.  XI,  1886,  p.  22S,  no.  56. 

*!.  G.  xn,  iii,  1091. 

«  Furtwangler,  Masterpieces,  pp.  376-7;  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  \TII, 
753. 

'  Tw  TpMtt  of  the  inscription  should  be  interpreted  in  the  genitive  case,  Keil, 
Philol.  Supplementbd.  p.  579. 

8  Farnell,  op.  cit.  V,  p.  12.     Cf.  Plut.  Conj.  Praec.  138  D. 

« Preller-Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  387;  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  VHI, 
760.  In  fact  Hermes  was  associated  more  often  with  Aphrodite  than  with  any 
other  deity  perhaps,  except  Heracles  and  Apollo.  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  1331; 
Farnell,  /,  c. 

'°  Longus,  Past.  IV,  34.   Cupbearer  of  the  gods,  .AJcaeus,  Frg.  8;  Sappho,  Fig.  51. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


37 


.l*» 


«-p  i 


A  relief  showing  Hermes  as  companion  of  the  Mother  of  the  gods 
was  found  by  Conze"  in  Lesbos,  and  would  seem  to  emphasize  the 
same  characte„st,cs  of  Hermes;  for  his  representations  as  cup  bearer 

with  :h?Sw''"^  "^  '"  ^  '"^^^"^  ^-'°^-^  '«  ^^^  >d<"  i-ge 

Hermes  had  very  lilcely  a  part  here  in  the  Cabiric  mysteries,  as  in 

phrTn?  '''^"'''  °^  '^^  ^°"'^  ^^Sean."    A  passage  in  Lyco- 

ws  ixfj  (xe  KaS/xos  SapeK'  iv  wepippuTui 
"laari  (fVTfvaai  dva/jifuaiv  woSi]yiTrju 
has  a  scholium  explaining  that  Pryiis  is  the  one  meant,  and  that  he 
was  son  of  Cadmus  (here  written  for  Cadmilus)  and  of  a  certain 
nymph  Issa,  for  whom  the  island  was  called  Issa.-  Apparently 
hen  th.s  Hermes-Cadmilus  was  recognized  very  early  among  the 
Lesbians  The  influence  may  well  have  come  from  Boeotia  with 
the  Aeohc  settlers.'« 

The  proper  essential  meaning  of  Hermes  is  the  latent  power  of 
the  wind  which  bringing  rain  fructifies,  and  so  likewise  he  is  the  god 
of  fructification  in  vegetation,  as  we  find  in  an  interesting  inscription 
discovered  at  Plagia,"  in  the  southern  part  of  the  island,  and  dating 
perhaps  second  century  after  Christ: 

Ztjj/os  Kal  Uaias  epiKvSeos  dyXaof  'Ep/x^ 

fVKapTTOV  (7Tfj(T(V  Tij(xS(  tTTl   (flVTaMrji 

BaKxuv  ZojoCs  vios,  oirws  acrivij  Sta  ttoi/tos 

a^xeXos  upatov  Kapirov  'ixv  pOTphuiv. 

'AXX'  t'Xaoj,  ava^  ZojoCs  ykvos  eiippovc  dv/xii 

<Tw^(  dLiovs  aiiTois  aipdovov  oK^ov  dei. 
It  is  such  an  inscription  as  we  should  expect  to  be  erected  to  Priapus  '« 
who  was  also  much  honored  in  Lesbos.    There  is,  too,  the  idea  of  good 
luck  and  gain,  which  are  so  often  closely  associated  with  the  name 
01  Hermes. 

"  Conze,  op.  cit.  p.  10. 

''  Conze,  Arch.  Zeitung,  XXXVIII,  1880,  p.  9. 

"  Farnell,  op.  cit.  V,  p.  16. 

'^Lycophron,  11.  219-20. 

i!  ^^^^- /^,«^-  XLII.  Pryiis  seems  to  be  son  of  Hermes,  and  a  prophet. 

''  Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  866. 

'^  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  476  =  Kaibel,  Epigr.  no.  812. 

"  Roscher's  Lexikon,  I,  2361  f.  (esp.  2376  f.). 


Pi'Jit' 


38 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


At  Mytilene  existed  in  Roman  times  a  union  called  the  "Hermais- 
tai."^^  This  name  seems  to  be  a  translation  of  the  better  known 
Latin  term  '*  Mercuriales. "  Such  Roman  corporations  with  Mercury 
as  patron  and  with  the  temple  of  Mercury  as  place  of  meeting  were 
estabhshed  also  elsewhere  in  the  Greek  world.^o  A  representation 
of  Hermes  as  patron  of  commerce  in  Mytilene  is  shown  on  a  coin 
which  portrays  him  on  the  prow  of  a  vessel,  holding  in  the  right 
hand  a  caduceus  and  in  the  left  a  cornucopia.^^ 

Sittig^  reports  15  names,  a  number  greater  than  for  any  other 
except  Zeus,  Apollo,  Artemis,  and  Dionysus. 

For  the  cult  of  Hermes  no  evidence  from  any  region  in  Lesbos 
but  Mytilene^s  and  Eresus  is  yet  known.  The  coins  of  these  two 
cities  alone  represent  him,  though  a  coin  of  Antissa  bears  the  caduceus 
as  a  type. 

The  coins  representing  Hermes  in  Lesbos  are  as  follows : — 

Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  163,  no.  68-71;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  313,  no.  5. 

Mytilene:  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  46,  no.   103;  p.  53,  no.   147. 

Eresus:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  176,  no.  1-6;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  37,  no.  37; 
Head,  H.  N.  p.  560. 

Caduceus-Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  186,  no.  20;  p.  187,  no.  35;  p.  188, 
no.  44;  p.  189,  no.  59;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  43,  no.  73,  77;  Mac- 
donald, op.  cit.  II,  p.  316,  no.  2.     Antissa:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  175,  no.  2. 

Pileus  (?)-Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  189,  no.  51-3. 

19 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  22. 

«o  Daremberg  et  Saglio,  Diet,  des  Antiquit6s,  V,  p.  135.  Such  unions  are 
traceable  also  in  Cos  and  Rhodes,   Pauly-Wissowa,   Real-Encycl.   VIII,   713. 

-'  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  46,  no.  103. 

22  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  167. 

«I.  G.  XII,  ii,  97  =  Athen.  Mitth.  XIV,  1889,  p.  254,  no.  26,  gives  another 
dedication  from  Mytilene. 

Poseidon 

The  fact  that  Lesbos  was  an  island  and  that  the  Lesbians  from 
very  early  times  owned  large  fleets  and  were  great  travellers  on  the 
sea  leads  us  to  expect  Poseidon  to  be  one  of  the  most  important 
deities.  Also  the  settlements  from  Thessaly  and  Boeotia^  would 
tend  to  add  to  the  importance  of  the  god,  since  one  of  the  chief 

1  Roscher's  Lexikon,  III,  2834  f.;  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  pp.  1137  f.  Against 
this  view  Nilsson,  Gr.  Feste,  p.  64,  has  argued,  saying  that  the  festivals  of  Posei- 
don are  few  in  that  region;  and  E.  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  69,  that  the  proper  names 
from  the  Poseidon  cult  are  also  few. 


i 


*^  W     i 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


39 


branches  of  Poseidon  cult  was  the  Minyan-Aeolic.     And  indeed  in 
the  early  settlements  of  Lesbos,  Poseidon  seems  to  have  had  much 
mfiuence.     According  to  Stephanus,^  Callimachus  says  that  Lesbos 
was  called  Myloms,  and  Parthenius  that  the  Lesbian   women   were 
called  Mytonides  and   the  men  Mylones   and  Mytonaioi  and  Myti- 
lenmot  from  My  ton,  son  of  Poseidon.      We  have  here  obviously  an 
attempt  to  obtain  a  derivation  for  the  name  Mytilene;  and  still  it 
does  seem  very  likely  that  an  early  deity  called  Murco.  was  recog- 
nized, and  associated  with  Poseidon.     Though  there  is  no  other 
mention  of  a  divinity  of  the  name,  Usener'  sees  a  connection  with  the 
Roman  god  of  fertility,  Mutunus  Tutunus.     It  is  significant  that 
Myton  as  a  proper   name  occurs  in   Euboea  only,^  and    Gruppe 
believes  that  Myton  was  associated  with  the  old  Boeotian  civilization  ' 
Again,  in  Stephanus^  we  read  that  Geren  was  a  city  or  village  of 
Lesbos,  named  from  Geren,  son  of  Poseidon.     The  town  seems  to 
have  been  the  modern  Gerani  near  Arisba.'    This  name  can  likewise 
be  traced  to  Boeotia,  where  we  have  the  name  r.p^«xo.;  and  Geres 
from  Boeotia  is  said  to  have  given  his  name  to  the  harbor  Gcrrhaiidai'^ 
at  leos. 

There  are  indications  that  human  sacrifice  was  not  unknown  in 
this  early  Poseidon  worship.  The  fullest  account  is  given  by  Plu- 
tarch, Sept.  Sapient.  Conviv.  ch.  20.  An  oracle  directed  that  when 
those  who  were  to  settle  Lesbos  should  in  their  course  meet  with  a 
reef  called  Mesogeion?  they  should  throw  to  Poseidon  a  bull  and  to 
Amphitrite  and  the  Nereids  a  living  maiden.  The  lot  fell  to  the 
daughter  of  Smintheus,  one  of  the  eight  leaders.  But  a  certain 
Enalus,  of  noble  birth,  loved  her  and  leaped  into  the  sea  to  save  her. 

'  Steph.Byz.  s.  v.  MmiXiij/j,. 
Civ!  dXiV,^L    ^'"''''"''"'   P-   ™'     Q"^   '''   ^P^d   Graecos   Priapus,   Aug. 

Rhod^r"'''  ^'  ''  ""'''  ^'  '^''''^^  '^^''''"  ''''''''  ^""^  '^"^'^  ^"  inscriptions   from 
«  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  853,  n.  6. 
•  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  Vkpy\v. 
'Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  VII,  1246. 

,  '  ^':f  ^'  ^,^^!  f^^;  ^^^PP^'  Gr.  Myth.  p.  293,  n.  2.  The  name  is  found 
also  in  Ehs.  Cf.  title  of  Nestor.  Geres  from  Boeotia,  the  eponymous  founder  of 
the  harbor,  Strabo,  XIV,  633;  Paus.  VII,  3,  6. 

»  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  26,  obviously  means  Lesbos,  not  Chios,  when  he  says 
the  sacrifice  was  performed  by  the  early  immigrants  who  were  sailing  to  Chios  as 
his  references  on  p.  95,  n.  HI  indicate. 


40 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


Later  he  appeared  on  land  and  said  that  he  and  the  maiden  had  both 
been  carried  to  shore  unharmed.  Shortly  afterwards,  when  a  great 
wave  arose  around  the  island  and  the  men  feared  to  meet  it,  Enalus 
alone  came  with  many  polypi  to  the  temple  of  Poseidon,  the  greatest 
polypus  bringing  a  stone,  which  Enalus  dedicated.  The  myth  is 
usually  connected  with  the  settlers  of  Methymna.^^  Perhaps  some 
crude  stone  statue  existed  later  in  the  Poseidon  cult,  and  the  story 
is  aetiological.  Gruppc  thinks  that  at  Methymna  Poseidon  was 
originally  worshipped  by  throwing  into  the  sea  a  steer  and  Amphi- 
trite  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  maiden. ^^  Plutarch  when  quoting  from 
Myrsilus,  the  Lesbian,^'-  gives  a  slightly  different  version.  Enalus 
is  called  the  Aeolian,  Smintheus  is  called  Phineus,  and  the  settlers 
are  the  Penthelids.  The  maiden  is  thrown  into  the  sea  because  of 
an  oracle  of  Amphitrite.  Still  another  version  published  by  Athe- 
naeus,^^  connects  the  story  definitely  with  the  founding  of  Methymna. 
It  tells  that  when  the  city  had  been  founded,  Enalus  appeared  and 
said  that  the  maiden  was  with  the  Nereids,  and  that  he  himself 
superintended  the  mares  of  Poseidon. 

Eresus,  situated  on  a  coast  fairly  regular  and  affording  slight  pro- 
tection for  ships, ^^  had  also  an  early  cult  of  Poseidon,  which  has  not 
yet  been  found  to  exist  anywhere  else  in  the  Greek  world.  The  record 
is  with  Stephanus,^^  who  says,  quoting  Callimachus,  that  ^^Uaoirov- 
TLos  is  Poseidon  of  Eresus,  for  thus  he  is  honored  in  Eresus,  a  city 
of  Lesbos.  The  natural  interpretation  would  be  that  Poseidon  was 
here  given  the  name  because  his  temple  stood  on  a  promontory  pro- 
jecting far  into  the  sea.  Better  and  more  suited  to  the  topography  of 
Eresus  would  be  the  explanation  that  the  temple  site  was  one  of  the 
small  islands  just  off  the  coast.  This  was  the  view  which  Koldewey 
at  first  entertained,  but  he  gave  it  up  when  he  saw  the  surf  sweep 
over  the  island.  He  states  that  the  elevation  was  only  seven  meters 
above  the  sea.  However,  the  present  state  of  the  island  does  not  con- 
clusively settle  the  question  of  suitability  for  the  location  of  the 
ancient  temple,  as  there  have  been  no  doubt  topographical  changes  in 

^°  The  name  Smintheus  was  connected  with  the  worship  of  Apollo  at  Methym- 
na.    See  pp.  1-2. 

»  F.  Diimmler,  Philol.  LVI,  1897,  p.  22;  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  298. 

>2  Plut.  De  Sol.  Animal,  ch.  36. 

^'  Athen.  XI,  466  c,  quoting  Anticlides  the  Athenian. 

1*  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  pp.  22  f.  and  PI.  8  and  9. 

"  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.     l\e<jo^6vTU}s. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


41 


ff 


"r' 


m 


the  intervening  centuries.  But  Koldewey  could  find  no  trace  of  the 
remains  of  a  temple.  The  only  place  where  there  were  indications 
of  such  a  building  at  Eresus  was  towards  the  northwest  of  the  old 
site  of  the  town.^^  Yet  when  Athenaeus^^  speaks  of  ''the  sea-girt 
hill  of  famous  Eresus,"  he  shows  that  Meo-oTro^rtos  could  be  an 
appropriate  name  for  Poseidon  worship  there. 

Another  cult  which  may  date  from  very  early  times  is  that  of  Posei- 
don 'EKvixvLos  or  'EXurios.  Hesychius^^  gives  both  epithets  as  Les- 
bian, but  because  of  the  similarity  it  is  generally  supposed  that  one 
name  is  a  corruption  of  the  other.  Jessen^^  suggests  that  'EXurtos 
may  be  a  corruption  of  'EXvyLvio^  or  KXurtos.  And  in  fact  'EXviivios 
seems  more  likely  to  be  the  correct  epithet,  closely  resembling  Elym- 
nion,  a  name  associated  with  Euboea  and  Boeotia;^^  so  that  BechteP^ 
and  others  think  the  cult  was  brought  over  the  sea  with  the  settlers. 
Various  derivations  have  been  suggested.  For  instance,  it  may 
come  from  eXuw  and  designate  the  god  who  rolls  up  the  waves.  Mein- 
eke  says  'EXL;^i'tos='Epu/xi'tos  =  'A(r(/?aXetos,  a  common  title  for  Posei- 
don. The  derivation  from  eXu/xa,  which  thus  makes  the  god  a  deity 
of  farming  and  plowing,22  is  especially  interesting  if  we  accept 
Usener's  interpretation  of  Myton,  son  of  Poseidon. 

There  is  no  evidence  of  a  Poseidon  cult  definitely  established  in 
Mytilene  before  the  fourth  or  third  century  B.  C.  Of  that  date  we 
have  a  very  fragmentary  metrical  composition,^^  which  according 
to  Paton's  restoration  dedicates  a  fountain  to  Poseidon.  Another 
inscription  from  Mytilene^^  gives  the  dedication  of  a  woman  Zosime, 
saved  by  the  providence  of  the  heavenly  god,  to  Zeus,  Pluto  and 
Poseidon  Havaa (pakios.  No  other  occurrence  of  this  epithet  is  known, 
though  it  is  obviously  only  a  more  emphatic  form  of  the  very  common 

*«  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  pp.  24-5. 

"Athen.  (Archestratus)  III,  111  f. 

"  Hesych.  s.  v.  '^Xvuvlo^  and  'EXi-Ttos. 

»8  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  V,  2476. 

2°  Schol.  to  Ar.  Peace,  1126.  Callistratus  says  Elymnion  is  a  place  of  Euboea, 
and  Apollonius  that  it  is  a  temple  near  Euboea.  W.  Schulze,  Gotdng.  Gel.  Anz. 
1897,  p.  873,  n.   2,   derives   '^Xvuvlos  from  Boeotian  EiXu^weus. 

"  Bechtel,  Aeolica,  p.  22,  says  Apollo  'EXvuplos,  evidently  meaning  Poseidon 

'KXvUVLOS. 

22  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  V,  2468.  Welcker,  Gr.  Gottedehre,  II,  p. 
684,  suggests  derivation  from  eXvuos. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  95  =  Kaibel,  Epigr.  Gr.  no.  780.  Kaibel  reads  Poseidippus  and 
makes  no  mention  of  Poseidon. 

2*  See  p.  23. 


i 


42 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


epithet  'Aa^aXios^^  A  third  inscription  from  Mytilene,^  dating 
later  than  the  time  of  Aurelian,  seems  to  mention  a  festival  of  Poseidon 
and  to  give  a  list  of  contributors;  but  nothing  definite  can  be  deter- 
mined because  of  the  fragmentary  condition  of  the  stone.  We  are 
also  told  by  the  romance  of  ApoUonius  of  Tyre^^  that  Neptunalia 
were  held  in  Mytilene.  Although  this  evidence  is  late,  it  is  very 
likely  that  the  city,  which  had  great  interest  in  the  sea  from  early 
times,  held  for  many  centuries  such  festivals  in  honor  of  Poseidon  as 
were  celebrated  in  Tenos.-^* 

The  name  of  a  month  Uoaideos  is  furnished  by  an  inscription^* 
which  many  scholars  accept  as  Lesbian. 

From  Hiera,  which  is  near  Mytilene,  an  inscription  of  the  time  of 
Tiberius  tells  that  Bresus  held  among  other  offices  that  of  Ilfiartas 
'ETr](pl\as  Uoaeldoji'os  Muxtcu  /cat  Muxtas  Kal  tclv  'AirapaiTrjToju  Qeav  Kal 
ras  etpas  KoXlas  .  .  .  7rap€8{p)os.^^  Mvxt-os  is  very  difficult  to  inter- 
pret, as  it  may  designate  a  special  character  of  Poseidon  or  the  name 
of  a  distinct  deity.  If  we  take  the  first  view,  FarnelP^  beUeves  that 
the  epithet  arose  through  association,  rather  than  identification 
with  the  Chthonic  gods,  and  that  Poseidon  was  worshipped  in  a 
cave  here  as  elsewhere.  Hofer^'  reads  ras  [K6]pas  (?)  KaXtas,  and 
thinks  that  the  naming  of  so  many  chthonic  deities  indicates  that 
Poseidon  is  connected  with  that  worship.  Gruppe^^  finds  parallels 
in  Boeotian  cult  where  Poseidon  could  not  have  been  far  removed 
from  Hades.  Still  another  interpretation,  and  one  which  is  very 
likely,  makes  Mi;xtos  and  Mi^xta  the  god  and  goddess  of  the  lower  world. 

Joined  with  the  cult  of  Poseidon  in  Lesbos  we  find  that  of  Amphi- 
trite,  if  we  can  accept  the  story  of  the  settlement  of  Methymna  as 
given  by  Plutarch.^-*     Since  her  worship  seems  to  have  existed  also 

25  Papageorgiu,  Uned.  Inschr.    v.    Myt.    p.    5;    Pauly-Wissowa,    Real-Encycl. 
II,  1726. 

2«I.  G.  XII,  ii,  71. 

"'  De  Apol.  Tyrio,  ch.  33. 

28  C.  I.  G.  2330-3.  For  months  in  his  honor,  especially  in  the  islands,  cf. 
Preller-Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  567,  n.  6. 

29  C.  I.  G.  IV,  6850.     See  p.  10. 

30 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  484.     Such  is  Paton's  reading. 
3^  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  51. 

32  Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  3298.     See  Bezzenberger's  Beitriige,  V,  134. 

33  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  1139,  n.  I.  Farnell,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  21,  believes  Poseidon 
was    never   regarded   as    a    chthonian    god. 

3*  Preller-Robert,  op.  cit.  p.  597;  Gruppe,  op.  cit.  p.  414,  and  others  believe 
that  the  worship  of  Amphitrite  is  indicated. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


43 


# 


in  the  islands  of  Tenos  and  Naxos,  Gruppe  traces  its  origin  to  East 
Boeotia  and  Euboea.^^  The  outline  of  the  story  must  liave  some 
foundation  in  fact.  Wernicke^^  refuses  to  believe,  however  that 
human  sacrifices'^  were  offered  to  Amphitrite.  It  is  likewise  difficult 
to  beheve  that  the  version  given  by  Plutarch,  De  Sollertia  Animalium, 
IS  correct  in  attributing  oracles  to  her.  There  is  no  reason  why  she 
should  be  connected  with  prophecy. 

As  Nereids  were  much  honored  in  islands  and  by  coasts  and  out- 
lets of  streams,38  we  naturally  expect  to  find  references  to  them  in 
Lesbos,  as  indeed  we  do  find  in  the  Plutarch  story.     Their  cult  was 
not  very  common  in  Greece.     Wide  quotes  Pausanias^^  as  saying 
that  the  Nereids  were  sometimes  associated  with  Achilles  in  cult, 
and  it  is  unlikely  that  there  may  have  been  some  association  in  Les- 
bos, since  both  had  considerable  honor  there.     Because  of  a  fragment 
attributed  to  Myrsilus,  the  Lesbian,^^  it  is  supposed  that  the  Nereids 
were  called  AevKoSeat  in  Lesbos.     Near  Plumari,  on  the  south  shore, 
an  inscription^!  of  late  times  tells  that  Epaphroditus  dedicated  a 
thank  offering  to  the  AevKoyeiTa)u  Oiaaos  for  his  safety  and  that  of 
Menophilus.     It  is  possible  that  Epaphroditus  attributed  his  safety 
to  the  Nereids.     The  feeling  that  such  divinities  inhabit  hills  and 
streams  and  have  influence  for  good  or  evil,  still  lingers  among  the 
country  people  of  Lesbos.     W.  H.  D.  Rouse  says  that  in  his  travels 
he  met  an  old  goatherd  who  told  him  that  one  night  on  the  hills  he 
heard  the  sound  of  bells  rung  by  the  Neraidhes  which  made  him  to 
be  deaf  ever  after.'^^ 

Sittig^3  gi^es  eight  names  which  are  derived  from  the  Poseidon 
cult— a  fairly  high  percentage  when  compared  with  the  other  states 
of  Greece. 

The  portrait  of  Poseidon  appears  only  on  the  Mytilene  coin  repre- 
senting   the   Qeol    d/cpatot   MvTL\r)paio}v,    and    on   a    Methymna    coin 

^  Gruppe,  /.  c. 

^  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  I,  1965. 
"  Plutarch,  Sept.  Sapient.  Conviv.  ch.  20. 
"  Preller-Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  557. 

"  Wide,  Lakonische  Kulte,  p.  224;  Preller-Robert,  /.  c.  note  5. 
"Etym.  Mag.  p.  561,  45  =  F.  H.  G.  IV,  pp.  459  f.  Uvpalvos  is  the   reading. 
Cf.  Hesych.  s.  v.  AevKodUi. 

*^  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  481.     Perhaps  third  century  A.  D. 
«  Rouse,  Gr.  Votive  Offerings,  p.  46,  n.  3. 
«  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  167. 


44 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


45 


of  the  time  of  Geta."     But  his  trident  is  depicted  on  two  types  of 
coins,  one  dating  from  440-350,  and  the  other  from  350-250  B.   C.^^ 

"  See  pp.  23-4.  and  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  56,  no.  35. 

«  Wroth.  Cat.  p.  168,  no.  117;  p.  189,  no.  54;  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  60,  no.  58. 

Demeter 

The  source  of  the  worship  of  Demeter  seems  to  have  been  Thes- 
saly,^  southwest  of  Mount  Ossa,  and  from  that  region  the  cult  prob- 
ably passed  to  Boeotia.  The  early  settlers  of  Lesbos  brought  it 
with  them  to  their  new  home;  and  here  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and 
the  favorable  climate  of  the  island  called  Macaria,  furnished  ample 
reason  for  the  continuation  of  the  worship  of  Demeter.  The  princi- 
pal center  of  her  cult  was  in  the  western  part  of  the  island,  around 
Eresus,  for  there  was  the  great  grain  growing  district  praised  by  a  pas- 
sage in  Athenaeus,^  "  First  the  gifts  of  fair-haired  Demeter  shall  I  call 
to  mind,  dear  Moschus,  and  do  you  ponder  in  your  heart.  Best, 
yes,  most  excellent  of  all  are  the  well  made  cakes  of  fruitful  barley 
grown  in  Lesbos,  on  the  sea-girt  hill  of  famous  Eresus.  Whiter 
than  driven  snow  are  they.  If  the  gods  eat  barley  bread,  there 
Hermes  goes  and  buys  for  them." 

A  coin  of  Eresus  bears  Hermes  on  the  obverse  and  wheat  on  the 
reverse.^  And  in  fact  the  coins  of  that  city  well  illustrate  the  impor- 
tance of  Demeter  there;  for  with  very  few  exceptions,  the  coins 
which  have  her  portrait  or  symbols  were  stamped  at  the  Eresus 
mint.  But  because  very  few  inscriptions  of  any  kind  have  yet  been 
found  in  that  part  of  Lesbos,  epigraphical  evidence  is  lacking.** 

For  the  region  about  Mytilene  there  is  only  a  passage  of  late 
literature  which  names  Demeter.  It  occurs  in  the  pastoral  romance 
of  Longus,^  who  speaks  of  a  sacrifice  by  the  master,  made  on 
arrival  at  his  country  estate,  to  all  the  gods  who  preside  over  ay poiKia, 
to  Demeter,  Dionysus,  Pan  and  the  Nymphs.  Though  this  passage 
was  written  perhaps  four  centuries  after  Christ,  such  sacrifices  and 

'  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  IV,  2714;   Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,   1288. 

2  Athen.  Ill,  111  f.,  quoting  Archestratus. 

3  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  37,  no.  37. 

*  Kern,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  IV,  2747,  thinks  the  name  of  the  month 
'OfxoXdlos,  recorded  in  an  inscription  of  Eresus,  may  be  derived  from  the  Demeter 
cult,  but  the  evidence  in  favor  of  the  Zeus  cult  is  stronger. 

'  Longus,  Past.  IV,  13. 


•*  ■-%  ^ 


rW 


the  relationship  of  Demeter  to  these  other  divinities  were  in  all 
probability  a  survival  from  earlier  centuries.^ 

Though  Demeter  herself  is  not  directly  mentioned  by  inscriptions, 
yet  from  the  records  of  divinities  associated  with  Demeter  worship 
we  know  something  of  the  importance  of  her  influence  in  the  country 
around  Mytilene.  There  is  a  dedication  of  Imperial  times  to  Cora 
2cbr€tpa;^  and  another  inscription  of  about  the  same  date  mentions 
Persephone,  but  is  so  fragmentary  that  its  contents  cannot  be  deter- 
mined.^ Also  on  a  coin  of  the  time  of  Hadrian  we  find  Cora  repre- 
sented with  Demeter.  The  grouping  of  the  mother  and  daughter 
occurs  very  seldom  on  coins,  as  Pick^  observes.  He  believes  that  in 
the  choice  of  this  type  of  head  as  well  as  of  the  standing  figure,  Eleusi- 
nian  influence  is  unmistakably  expressed. 

The  inscription  concerning  Bresus  found  at  Hiera,  reads  [K6]pas 
KaXtas  according  to  Hofer.  It  has  also  been  suggested  that  Uvxlos 
and  Mvxia  are  names  for  the  god  and  goddess  of  the  underworld. 
Pnistia  and  Etephila  of  this  inscription  Paton  joins  and  makes 
apply  to  one  deity  of  double  name,^^  probably  Persephone.  The 
name  Etephila  is  given  several  times  by  Lesbian  inscriptions^^  which 
do  not  tell  enough  for  the  determination  of  the  exact  nature  of  the 
goddess.  Hesychius,^2  however,  says  that  'Eratc^tXr;  is  Persephone. 
BechteP^  gives  doubtless  the  proper  derivation  of  the  word,  i.  e., 
'ET77<^tXat  = 'Er€77v5tXat,  "truly  friendly."  It  would  then  be  a  euphe- 
mistic name  such  as  was  Eumenides,  and  Ev^ovXevs  applied  to  Hades. 

*  These  customs  are  often  preserved  for  centuries  in  the  country  regions. 
Rouse,  Gr.  Votive  Offerings,  p.  50,  says,  '  Even  a  last  trace  of  the  Corn-maiden 
seems  to  survive,  in  a  curious  plaited  m.it  made  of  ripe  ears,  hung  up  in  the 
peasants'  houses,  which  bears  a  distant  resemblance  to  a  begowned  human  figure. 
I  have  seen  these  as  far  east  as  Lesbos,  where  they  are  regular,  and  rarely  on 
the  mainland  of  Greece.  The  people  call  them  ^Ad^a,  'mat,'  or  atrapi,  'corn,' 
and  have  forgotten  what  they  once  meant."  Cf.  also  Cook,  Zeus,  p.  397,  n.  4 
and  pi.  XXVIII,  where  a  corn-maiden  from  Lesbos  is  illustrated. 

'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  112.  The  cult  of  Cora  Soteira  at  Sparta  was  probably  mystic, 
Farnell,  op.  cit.  Ill,  p.  198. 

8 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  466. 

» Jahrbuch  des  K.  D.  Arch.  Inst.  XIII,  1898,  p.  160.  Odessa  is  the  only 
place  where  the  type  obtained  a  firm  hold.     Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  1034. 

»o  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  Index  VII,  Res  Sacrae. 

^'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  239  and  255.  Hiller  v.  Gaertringen,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real- 
Encycl.  VI,  712. 

^2  Hesych.  s.  v.   'Erai^iX??. 

"  Bezzenberger's  Beitrage,  V,  p.  124. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


47 


46 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


If  Etephila  is  Persephone,  then  the  plural  use  of  the  word,  tepea  rav 
deap  'ETr](fl\ap,  in  the  time  of  Caracalla,  must  apply  to  Demeter  and 
her  daughter.^-'  In  this,  as  well  as  three  other  inscriptions,  priestesses 
of  the  cult  are  named. ^^  Some  of  these  priestesses  are  known  to 
have  been  among  the  most  important  women  of  Mytilene.^^ 

Pnistia  occurs  not  only  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  484,  but  in  two  other 
Lesbian  inscriptions;^^  and  yet  the  name  is  known  nowhere  else 
except  Lesbos.  One  of  these  inscriptions,  dating  in  Imperial  times,^^ 
informs  us  that  there  was  a  priestess  of  Pnistia.  The  other,  which 
is  of  the  fourth  or  third  century  B.  C,  is  restored  [Kaplajaa  Ili^taria.^^ 
This  restoration  can  be  made  with  a  fair  amount  of  certainty  because 
of  the  inscription  in  which  Aurelia  is  called  lepea  rav  Bkav  'ETrjiplXap 
/cat  Kaplaaav  Kal  epaoipopos  toov  ay  loot  cltcjou  pLVCJTap'ioiv}^  The  Karissai 
are  not  otherwise  knowm.^^  Lesbos,  therefore,  adds  three  new  names 
to   the   cult   of   Demeter— Etephila,   Pnistia,   and  Karissai. 

An  inscription  of  the  early  Roman  period^^  reading,  ArjurjTpos  Kal 
Beuiv  Kapwoipopcjou  Kal  deoov  To\vKapTro)v  Kal  Te\e(T<p6pcop,  is  a  subject  of 
much  dispute  because  the  original  is  lost,  and  there  is  no  certainty 
that  it  was  found  in  Lesbos.^^  Paton  and  Kern  exclude  it,  Gruppe 
and  Farnell  think  it  may  possibly  be  Lesbian,  and  Preller  and  Stoll 
accept  it.  The  question  cannot  be  settled  unless  perhaps  the 
bronze  be  found  again.  Kapwoipopos,  however,  is  an  epithet  which 
occurs  often  in  Lesbian  inscriptions  in  honor  of  Agrippina,  wife  of 
Germanicus,  and  also  of  Archepolis  Philippina,  the  gymnasiarch  of 
the  second  or  third  century  A.  D. 

1*  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  255.     Cf.  Hiller  v.  Gaertringen,  /.  c. 
»I.   G.   XII,  ii,   110,   222,   263  and  264  (?). 

"  In  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  222,  Dada,  wife  of  Lesbonax,  of  a  most  prominent  family, 
is  represented.     In  no.  255,  Aurelia  Artemisia  is  named  as  X6710S  7rp6ram  Kal 

17  I.   G.  XII,  ii,  93,   136.     Cf.   Roscher's  Lexikon,  III,   2586. 

i«  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  136. 

i»  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  93. 

20 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  255. 

2»  Hofer,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  959. 

"C.  I.  G.  II,  2175. 

23  Pococke,  Descr.  Orient.  Ill,  p.  15,  pubHshed  it  among  Chian  and  Mytile- 
naean  monuments.  We  do  not  know,  therefore,  to  which  of  the  islands  it  belongs. 
Paton  omits  from  Lesbian  Corpus.  Kern,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  IV, 
2747.  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  1179,  n.  1.  Farnell,  op.  cit.  Ill,  p.  318.  Preller- 
Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  766.     Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  1303. 


♦""^  * 


% 


; 


# 


In  a  very  late  inscription  cited  above,^^  mention  was  made  of  the 
kpabifopos  TOiv  ayLcoraTOiP  jjLvaTaploiu,  an  indication  that  mysteries 
formed  a  part  in  the  service  for  these  chthonic  deities.  The  myste- 
ries no  doubt  existed  also  in  earlier  times;  but  though  two  other 
inscriptions  definitely  mention  the  word,  they  are  too  fragmentary 
to  reveal  what  the  connection  may  be.  One  of  these  seems  to  tell 
that  Tiberius  supplied  new  mysteries.^^  Hiller  von  Gaertringen 
suggested  x^ovIols  before  OkaLaL,"-^  but  the  restoration  is  rather  doubt- 
ful. The  other  inscription^^  has  the  phrase  ext  tC^v  iivarripiijiv,  but 
is  so  mutilated  that  we  cannot  tell  whether  the  mysteries  are  those 
of  the  chthonic  deities,  or  of  Artemis  or  the  Emperor,  who  are  men- 
tioned in  the  fragments. 

For  towns  other  than  Mytilene  and  Eresus  wt  have  no  information 
about  the  Demeter  cult.  But  we  may  suppose  that  Methymna  had 
a  cult  of  the  goddess,  for  a  scholium  to  Hesiod's  Theogony^^  says, 
''  Some  say  Persephone  was  carried  off  from  Sicily,  but  Bacchyhdes  says 
from  Crete,  and  Orpheus  from  the  regions  about  Oceanus,  and  Phano- 
demus  from  Attica,  and  Demades  kv  vairais. "  The  last  phrase  has 
been  thought  to  perhaps  signify  Nape,  which  was  situated  in  the 
plain  near  Methymna.  The  identification  is  very  uncertain,  but 
the  tradition  w^hich  Demades  reports  may  have  arisen  because  of  the 
extensive  Demeter  worship  in  that  part  of  Lesbos. 

Sittig  gives  nine  names  derived  from  the  cult  of  Demeter.^^ 

Of  the  coin  representations,  those  worthy  of  special  mention  are 
the  small  Lesbian  hektai  of  the  fourth  century,  which  have  preserved 
an  interesting  type  of  the  veiled  Demeter.  FarnelP^  thinks  "the 
ample  brow,  large  surface  of  cheek,  and  strong  chin  are  inherited 
from  the  older  style,  but  the  deep-cut  eye-sockets  and  a  certain 
maturity  in  the  contours  impart  a  special  character  to  the  face;  there 
is  a  shadow  upon  it  and  yet  a  certain  brightness  proper  to  the  corn- 
mother  in  the  upturned  gaze."     Demeter  (or  Cora)  with  Athena 

2<  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  255. 

26  1.  G.  XII,  ii,  205  =  Collitz,  Dial.  Inschr.  no.  222.  Found  near  Mytilene, 
on  the  way  leading  to  Thermae.  Cf .  Hiller  v.  Gaertringen,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real- 
Encycl.  VI,  712,  and  Nilsson,  Gr.  Feste,  p.  353. 

20  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  IV,  2747. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  26. 

"1.914. 

2»  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  167. 

»°  Farnell,  op.  cit.  Ill,  p.  272. 


48 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


anci   Dionysus  is  represented  on  a  coin  of  Lucius  Verus,^^  but  the 

reaM'Ti  for  the  grouping  i?  unknown. 

The  following  coins  represent  Demeter: — 

Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  168,  no.  118-21;  Mionnet,  SuppL  VI,  p.  51,  no.  12. 

Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  199,  no.  164(?). 

Methymna:  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  56,  no.  33. 

Eresus:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.   176,  no.   1,   Demeter  or  Apollo;  Mionnet,  Descr. 

Ill,  p.  36,  no.  29-35;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  52,  no.  13,  14-5;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II, 

p.  501;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  560,  Demeter  or  Apollo. 
Koinon:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  169,  no.  2(?). 
Persephone-Lesbos:  Wroth,    Cat.    p.    162,    no.    65-6.     Eresus:  Mionnet, 

Descr.  Ill,  p.  37,  no.  38. 
Ear  of  Corn-Mvtilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  188,  no.  47,  48(?);  p.  189,  no.  49-50; 

p.    190,   no.   66-7(?);   Eresus:  Wroth,   Cat.   p.    176,  no.  2-7;   Mionnet, 

Descr.  Ill,  p.  37,  no.  37. 

»i  See  p.  65. 


Hephaestus 

The  proximity  of  Lesbos  to  Lemnos  makes  us  reasonably  sure 
that  the  cult  of  Hephaestus  was  established  among  the  Lesbians 
at  an  early  time.  But  the  evidence  is  rather  uncertain.  Some 
scholars  believe  that  a  month  Hephaistios  was  known  in  Lesbos, 
but  the  inscription  which  names  it  is  not  proved  to  be  Lesbian.^ 
Wilamowitz  concludes  from  a  passage  in  Pliny  that  there  was  a  city 
Hephaistia  in  Lesbos  i^  but  the  text  of  Pliny  reads  Lemnos,  and 
Lemnos  rather  than  Lesbos  suits  the  context.  Alcaeus  composed 
an  ode  to  Hephaestus,  from  which  we  should  infer  a  local  interest 
in  the  god.^  Likewise  this  deity  is  represented  on  a  coin  of  Methym- 
na;^ and  at  Eresus  there  is  inscriptional  record  of  a  woman's  name 
Eaphaistis.^  Although  there  is  no  strong  point  in  the  evidence  if 
considered  singly,  yet  taken  all  together,  and  with  a  consideration 
of  the  geographical  situation,  it  is  sufficient  to  indicate  that  the 
Hephaestus  cult  was  well  known  in  Lesbos. 


!, 


»  C.  I.  G.  IV,  6850.     See  p.  10. 

»  Pliny,  H.  N.  IV,  73.     WUamowitz,  Gotting.  Gel.  Nachr.  1895,  p.  232. 

•Alcaeus,  Erg.   11,  Bergk.  Sappho,  Erg.  66,  Bergk,  mentions  him. 

*  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  39,  no.  54. 

•  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  535. 


THE  TWELVE  GODS 


49 


Ares 

A  com  from  Lesbos^  dating  440-350  B.  C,  has  on  its  obverse  a 
beardless  male  head,  wearing  a  crested  helmet  ormanented  with  a 
griffin.     Wroth   suggested   that   the   head  was  of   Ares. 


1  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  165,  no.  95-7. 


S 


Hestia 


No  real  evidence  for  a  cult  of  Hestia  in  Lesbos  has  yet  been  dis- 
covered. The  claim  which  has  been  formerly  made^  that  a  cult  of 
Hestia  Wpvravda  existed  at  Mytilene  rests  on  the  uncertain  testimony 
of  a  restored  inscription.^  It  is  true  that  the  restoration  was  based 
on  similarity  to  an  inscription  from  Syros^  which  contained  the  name 
Hestia  Prytaneia.  But  a  later  reading  of  the  stone  by  Paton  reveals 
letters  which  exclude  the  possibility  that  the  restoration  should 
be  correct."*  Likewise  incorrect  is  the  supposition  that  another 
Lesbian  inscription  mentions  a  priestess  of  Hestia  in  Mytilene;^ 
for  the  words  rats  Upriats  rfis  'Eortas  refer  to  the  Vestal  Virgins  in 
Rome.^  No  types  on  coins  have  yet  been  identified  with  Hestia 
in  Lesbos. 


(^> 


I 


^ 


1  Preller-Robert,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  425,  n.  2;  Gruppe,  Gr.  Mylh.  p.  1405,  n.  I; 
Farnell,  op.  cit.  V,  p.  348. 

2 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  68,  1.3  =  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  p.  424. 
'  I.  G.  XII,  vS  659-60;  662-4;  666-7. 

*  Cf.  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.   VIII,    1285;   Roscher's  Lexikon,  I,  2638. 

*  Preller-Robert,  /.  c. 

« I.  G.  XII,  ii,  58  b,  1.  23. 


I  1 

II  t 


CHArXER  II 
Other  Deities 

Adrasteia 

This  Trojan-Phrygian  goddess^  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  form 
of  Cybele,  confused  by  false  etymology  with  Nemesis  and  very 
closely  related  to  her.-  She  was  given  the  name  because  of  Adrastus, 
the  Phrygian  king,  who  founded  a  shrine  for  her.  Her  worship 
was  introduced  into  Lesbos  from  Asia  Minor,  but  at  what  time  it 
is  impossible  to  tell.  At  any  rate  an  inscription  of  the  first  century 
A.  D.  speaks  of  a  irdpedpos  of  Adrasteia,  and  attests  that  her  worship 
was  established  in  the  island  by  that  date.  On  the  reverse  of  a 
coin  of  Antoninus  Pius"^  there  is  a  figure  which  Wroth  designates  as 
Nemesis,  and  describes  as  a  woman  ''in  a  chiton  and  peplos,  standing 
left,  her  right  arm  bent  at  the  elbow,  and  plucking  the  chiton  at 
her  neck;  at  her  feet  a  wheel."  It  may  be  that  a  representation  of 
Adrasteia  was  here  intended.  On  another  coin  figures  identified 
also  as  Nemesis  stand  on  each  side  of  a  group  including  Cybele, 
Asclepius  and  Artemis  of  Ephesus. 

1  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  1,  408  f.;  Hasluck,  Cyzicus,  p.  220;  Robinson, 
A.  J.  A.  1912,  p.  29. 

'  Paton  and  Hicks,  Inscr.  from  Cos,  no.  29. 

3  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  206,  no.  201.  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  47,  no.  114.  No. 
115  is  also  identified  as  Nemesis. 

Asdephis 

The  original  home  of  Asclepius  was  Thessaly^  and  in  Homer  he  is 
named  as  a  Thessalian  physician.-  But  he  was  soon  after  deified, 
and  from  that  country  his  cult  came  to  Asia  Minor  and  the  neigh- 
boring islands.  Because  of  the  very  close  relation  of  Lesbos  and 
Thessaly  we  should  expect  Asclepius  to  hold  an  important  place 
in  the  religious  life  of  the  Lesbians.  Indeed  it  is  assumed  that  Lesbos 
had  one  of  the  oldest  cults  in  the  East,  and  connecting  links  between 
that  island  and  Cos  are  not  lacking.^     Actual  evidence  for  the  earlier 

» Roscher's  Lexikon,   I,   623;   Pauly-Wissowa,   Real-Encycl.   II,    1645. 

2  11.  II,  731;  IV,  194;  XI,  518. 

3  Wilamowitz,    Philol.    Untersuch.    IX,    1886,    pp.    52  f.;    Thraemer,  Pauly- 
Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  II,  1660  f. 


J"  4 


< 


m 


OTHER  DEITIES 


51 


centuries  among  the  Lesbians,  however,  is  entirely  missing;  and  so 
we  are  forced  to  depend  on  the  arguments  of  colonization  and  the 
importance  of  the  cult  in  times  later  than  the  fourth  century.  For 
the  period  after  300  B.  C.  there  is  ample  testimony  from  both  inscrip- 
tions and  coins.  But  the  information  obtained  up  to  the  present 
time  is  concerned  only  with  Mytilene  and  the  country  in  its  vicinity. 

We  know  that  in  the  third  century  B.C.  Mytilene  had  an  important 
temple  of  Asclepius,  for  in  the  well-known  inscription  containing 
pledges  of  Eumenes  to  his  soldiers^  (and  dating  between  263  and 
241),  directions  were  given  that  copies  of  the  document  be  placed 
in  the  temple  of  Athena  at  Pergamum,  in  Gryneum,  in  Delos,  and 
in  the  temple  of  Asclepius  in  Mytilene.  We  know  that  the  temples 
in  Pergamum,  Gryneum^  and  Delos  were  famous  even  beyond  the 
hmits  of  their  respective  territory.  We  infer  that  the  temple  of 
Asclepius  in  Mytilene  was  likewise  well-known.  This  evidence  is 
reinforced  by  another  inscription  found  at  Pergamum  and  dating 
from  the  second  century  B.  C.*^  It  is  a  decree  of  the  people  of 
Pergamum  concerning  the  possession  of  the  priesthood  of  Asclepius, 
and  makes  provision  for  the  erection  of  a  copy  in  the  temple  of 
Asclepius  at  Pergamum,  in  the  temple  of  Athena  on  the  Acropolis, 
and  in  the  temple  of  Asclepius  at  Mytilene.  From  Mytilene  also 
comes  evidence  that  this  temple^  was  an  important  repository  for 
international  decrees.  By  an  inscription'^  found  there  we  learn  that 
the  Aetolians  in  the  third  century  B.  C.  expressed  friendship  for 
the  people  of  Mytilene.  The  latter  replied  with  a  decree  of  praise, 
and  directed  that  this  decree  and  that  of  the  Aetolians  be  placed 
in  the  temple  of  Asclepius. 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  locate  this  important  temple.  A  large 
architrave  block  reading, 

.    .    .    ykvqs  Ipevs  rd  ItUiTrjpos  'Aa/cXaTrto;  5ta  yheos 
.    .    .   Ota  'AaKKaiTLOJ  adcrr^pL  wepl  vyeias 
dates  from  the  second  or  first  century  B.  C.^     One  end  is  now  broken 
away,  but  the  stone  was  once  very  large  and  belonged  to  a  fine 

*  Frankel,  Inschr.  v.  Pergamon,  I,  no.  13,  1.  18  =  Dittenberger,  O.  G.  I.  no. 
266.     Frankel    thinks   it   dates   soon    after   263. 

*  Frankel,  /.  c.    (note,  p.   16)  for  the  celebrated  Apollo  temple  at   Gryneum. 
«  Frankel,   op.  cit.   II,   no.   251,  1.   40. 

'  A.  J.  A.  VI,  1890,  p.  355. 

» I.  G.  XII,  ii,  15,  I.  34,  and  Raton's  note. 

»I.  G.  XII,  ii,  116  =  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  p.  426,  no.  5. 


/v 


;;i 


i:l 


il; 


f!i 


52 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


building  of  Asclepius.  The  stone  was  found  in  the  Turkish  fortress 
on  the  Acropolis,  which  was  the  oldest  part  of  Mytilene.  E.  Fabri- 
cius  and  C.  Cichorius  discovered  in  about  the  same  place  a  number  of 
other  inscriptions  which  contained  public  documents. ^^  Accordingly 
Cichorius^^  decided  that  the  temple  of  Asclepius  was  probably  situated 
on  the  hill  of  the  present  fortress,  on  the  highest  part  of  the  Acropolis. 
One  of  his  arguments  is  that  the  architrave  block  is  too  large  to  have 
been  moved  very  far.  Koldewey/^  when  he  examined  the  topography 
of  Mytilene,  said  that  by  this  we  cannot  prove  the  location  of  the 
temple,  for  at  the  building  of  the  fortress,  material  for  it  was  collected 
from  the  whole  district.  An  inscription  of  about  the  third  century 
B.  C.^^  gives  praise  to  Athanadas  for  bringing  water  to  the  Asclepieum 
and  to  the  city,  if  we  accept  a  very  probable  restoration  by  Paton. 
This  inscription  indicates  with  more  probability  a  site,  not  on  the 
Acropolis,  which  in  ancient  times  was  a  small  island, ^"^  but  on 
the  mainland,  and  on  lower  ground.  Sanctuaries  of  Asclepius 
were  usually  placed  where  a  supply  of  running  water  was  available, 
and  not  on  the  top  of  a  hill.  Also  the  inscription  giving  praise  to 
the  Aetolians  v/as  found  in  the  foundations  of  the  old  church  of 
St.  Symeon,  between  the  two  harbors,  in  the  region  where  Koldewey 
thinks  the  ancient  agora  was  located. ^^  The  common  view  now  is 
that  the  temple  of  Asclepius  stood  nearby,  in  the  place  where  is  the 
new  church  of  St.  Therapon.^*^ 

The  cult  of  the  temple  from  which  the  architrave  block  came  was 
that  of  Asclepius  'Zcorrjp,^'^  for  this  epithet  is  twice  used  upon  the  stone. 
And  the  name  is  likewise  recorded  by  two  other  inscriptions  from 
Mytilene  ;^^  also  by  one  from  the  neighboring  town  of  Hiera.^^     One 

^°  A.  J.  A.  /.  c.  Fabricius  thinks  the  compact  between  Rome  and  Mytilene 
must  have  been  placed  in  this  temple,  Athen.  Mitth.  IX,  1884,  p.  86. 

11  Athen.  Mitth.  XIII,  1888,  p.  56,  no.  6,  note.  The  stone  measures  I.  39  m 
in  length  and  .41  m  in  width. 

12  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  p.  10. 
13 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  4. 

1*  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  p.  3. 

1*  Koldewey,   op.   cit.   p.    10. 

1"  Papageorgiu,  Inschr.  v.  Myt.  p.  23. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  116. 

i«  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  61  and  102. 

i»  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  484.  This  inscription,  as  well  as  the  two  named  in  the  pre- 
ceding note,  record  names  of  men  who  served  in  the  worship  of  Asclepius.  The 
title  Soter  is  obviously  a  very  common  one  for  Asclepius. 


1L-^     I 


OTHER  DEITIES 


53 


of  these  inscriptions  from  Mytilene  reads,^^  iravlpevs  Kal  ipevs  5td  yheos 
rCo  'EcoTTjpos  'AcTKXaTrio)  Kal  ipeus  5td  ^Ico  Aea^ioLs]  and  the  expression 
6td  yheos  occurs  also  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  61  and  116.  There  was  in 
Mytilene  an  inherited  priesthood.  Thraemer  thinks  that  these 
priests  belonged  not  to  the  family  of  Asclepiads  derived  from  Poda- 
lirius,  for  he  was  a  stranger  in  Aeolis,  and  that  the  descent  must 
accordingly  be  traced  from  Machaon.  He  connects  the  cult  here 
with  the  branches  at  Andros,  Thera,  and  Gortyna.^^  But  Poda- 
lirius  was  apparently  recognized  in  Lesbos  in  the  third  century  B.  C, 
at  any  rate.  For  in  Pyrrha  Uodaketpico  is  inscribed  on  a  stone^^  which 
Paton  believes  to  be  an  altar. 

Besides  the  office  of  inherited  priest  at  Mytilene,  we  know  of  one 
other  office  in  the  service  of  Asclepius — the  Zakoros  of  Asclepius 
Soter,  which  is  inscribed  on  a  stone  found  at  Hiera,^^  south-east 
of  the  city. 

An  inscription  of  late  Imperial  times^"^  gives  a  list  of  men  with  the 
word  dpewTos  attached  to  their  names.  Lolling  supposes  this  is  a 
list  of  freedmen,  who  as  lepol  stood  under  the  protection  of  the  sanc- 
tuary at  which  their  manumission  had  taken  place. 

Hygeia  likewise  had  part  in  the  cult.  A  coin  of  the  time  of  Gal- 
lienus  shows  Asclepius  looking  towards  Hygeia.  He  holds  in  the 
right  hand  a  snake-encircled  staff;  Hygeia,  feeds  a  serpent  from  a 
patera.^^ 

From  the  reign  of  Hadrian  to  that  of  Gallienus  the  coins  show 
that  in  almost  all  Asia  Minor  the  worship  of  Telesphorus  flourished.^ 
This  god  seems  to  have  been  introduced  into  Asclepius  cult  in  Roman 
times,  and  to  have  also  received  a  place  in  Lesbos.  His  portrait 
has  been  found  on  coins  of  the  island  ;^^  and  an  inscription  of  Kato- 
Pyrgi  from  Roman  times^^  mentions  a  man  named  Telesphorus. 

20  1.   G.  XII,  ii,   102  =  Kaibel,  Eph.  Epig.  II,  p.   21,  XXV. 

'1  Roscher's  Lexikon,   I,   630;   Pauly-Wissowa,   Real-Encycl.   II,    1660  f. 

«  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  477. 

w  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  484. 

«*I.  G.  XII,  ii,  85  =  Athen.  Mitth.  XI,  1886,  p.  270,  No.  13.  I.  G.  XII, 
ii,  116  and  117.  'Apxaykra  occurs  in  a  very  fragmentary  inscription,  I.  G. 
XII,  ii,  61,  I.  16,  from  which  it  is  impossible  to  determine  to  whom  the 
name  applies.     The  inscription  tells  of  an  emperor  and  a  priest  of  Asclepius. 

^  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  203,  no.  183  and  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  51,  no.  133. 

^  L.   Schenck,   De  Telesphoro  Deo,   Gottingen,   1888,  p.  47. 

^  He  also  occurs  on  coins  of  Pordoselene.  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  219,  no.  4  (time  of 
Septimius  Severus). 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  108  =  Athen.  Mitth.  XI,  1886,  p.  281. 


A 


', 


V'l 


54 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


None  of  the  cities  except  Mytilene  have  as  yet  been  found  to  have 
stamped  coins  representing  Asclepius.  Those  of  Mytilene  bearing 
his  type  range  in  date  from  perhaps  the  fourth  century  B.  C.  to  the 
time  of  the  emperors  Valerian  and  Gallienus.  On  the  alliance  coins 
of  Mytilene  and  Adramyttium  of  this  last  period  Asclepius  occurs 
frequently.  On  still  another  coin  Tyche  holds  a  figure  of  Asclepius 
with  Dionysus,  thus  indicating  perhaps  the  importance  of  the  god. 

One  of  the  types  that  is  particularly  difficult  to  interpret  represents 
a  standing  figure  which  is  like  to  the  youthful  Asclepius,  and  bears 
the  legend  IIANKPATIAHZ.^^  The  same  legend  occurs  also  on  a 
coin  with  a  youthful  male  head.  Svoronos  and  others  have  thought 
that  Pankratides  is  an  epithet  of  Asclepius.^^  Although  the  name 
is  appropriate  as  such  a  title,  it  seems  here  to  denote  a  physician  of 
Mytilene,  who  was  given  the  attributes  of  the  deity  as  a  mark  of 
honor.  Another  interesting  type  represents  Asclepius  with  Cybele,^^ 
and  alliance  coins  of  Valerian  and  Gallienus  show  him  with  the 
Tyche  of  Mytilene.^"-^ 

The  coins  give  us  the  only  representations  of  Asclepius,  except 
two  reliefs  which  Conze'^'^  found  at  Methymna.  The  stone  containing 
the  more  interesting  rehef  is  very  small  (Conze,  PI.  X,  3,  gives  the  exact 
size),  and  shows  both  in  character  and  art  influences  of  the  later  period 
of  antiquity.  The  right  hand  rests  on  a  staff  which  is  encircled 
by  a  serpent,  and  holds  a  flying  victor\%  with  a  garland  and 
perhaps  a  palm.  Before  him  is  a  plant  very  much  like  a  vine 
with  grapes.  Conze  points  out  that  an  Asclepius  Nt/cr7<^6pos  is  new,^"* 
but  not  a  thing  remarkable.  He  suggests  that  the  vine  denotes  the 
curative  properties  of  Lesbian  wine,  and  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  wine  of  Methymna  was  especially  medicinal. 

Lesbians  were  also  interested  in  Asclepius  cults  abroad.  A  decree 
of  the  people  of  Mytilene^  praises  the  Thessalians  and  provides  for 
sending  to  the  sacrifice  of  Asclepius  a  garland  and  a  sacrifice. 

»  See  p.  92. 

»°  Svoronos,  Riv.  Ital.  di  Numis.  XXI,  1908,  p.  319. 
3'  Mionnet,  Descr.  p.  45,  no.  99-100;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  505. 
32  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  214,  no.  233  and  234. 
'3  Conze,  op.  cit.  p.  22. 

3*  NtKi7<^pos  is  applied  to  Zeus,  Athena  and  Aphrodite. 

'5  Papageorgiu,  Uned.  Inschr.  v.  Myt.  no.  1,  II.  11  f.  Bechtel,  Aeolica,  p.  7, 
restores    Btaplav    in    place    of    artifavov. 


\. 


T 


*-,   * 


I 


0) 


' 


\i 


OTHER  DEITIES 


55 


The  well-known  record  of  cures  found  at  Epidaurus  tells  of  He- 
raieus  of  Mytilene  who  was  cured  of  baldness  in  the  sanctuary  there.^^ 

Aneicetus,  son  of  Aneicetus,  twice  won  the  games  in  honor  of 
Asclepius  at  Pergamum,^^  and  Hermias,  son  of  Neocles  of  Pyrrha,^^ 
made  an  offering  at  Epidaurus. 

The  following  coins  represent  Asclepius: — 

Lesbos:  Wroth,   Cat.   p.    167,   no.   113-4,   Asclepius  or  Zeus;   p.    168,   no. 

115-7(?);  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  505. 
Mytilene:  Wroth,   Cat.  p.   199,  no.   161-3,  Asclepius  or  Pankratides;   p. 

201,  no.  177;  p.  203,  no.  183;  p.  206,  no.  202;  p.  214,  no.  233-4;  Mionnet, 

Descr.  Ill,  p.  45,  no.  99-101;  p.  51,  no.  132-3,  Asclepius  or  Pankratides; 

p.  52,  no.  139;  p.  59,  no.  183;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  66,  no.  93,  Asclepius  or 

Pankratides;  p.  67,  no.  98,  100;  p.  69,  no.  109;  p.  77,  no.  148;  Head, 

H.  N.  p.  562;  Riv.  Ital.  di  Numis.  XXI,  p.  319. 
Eresus:  Head,  H.  N.  p.  560(?). 
Telesphorus-Mytilene:   Mionnet,    Descr.    Ill,   p.   44,   no.   89;   Suppl.    VI, 

p.  69,  no.  110. 
Hygeia-Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  203,  no.  183;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p. 

51,  no.  133. 

3«I.  G.  IV,  951,  1.  122  =  Dittenberger,  Syl.  802  =  Michei,  Recueil,  1069.  Of 
the  third  century  B.  C.  doubtless. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  388.  The  inscription  was  found  at  Mytilene,  and  the  inference 
is    that    Aneicetus   lived    in    that    city. 

3^1.  G.  IV,  1506.     Pyrrha  may  be  in  Thessaly  or  Caria  or  Lesbos. 

Ca'istris 

A  small  votive  tablet  from  Mytilene  of  the  early  Empire^  reads 
HeKovvba.  evxw  KaicrTpidL  av'edriKev.  Ca'istris  seems  to  have  been  one 
of  the  minor  deities  of  Lesbos. 

Cybele 

At  Eresus  an  inscription  was  found  which  reads  "A<^ato-ris  6€o5a;- 
pHa  yvva  raU  Tpairk^ais  Marpt.^  This  dedication  dates  from  the 
third  or  second  century  B.  C.  A  very  interesting  inscription  of 
the  same  city  shows  resistance  offered  to  her  special  worship  by  the 
provision  that  no  priest  of  Cybele  be  allowed  to  enter  the  temple 
and  that  women  be  not  permitted  to  perform  the  Phrygian  orgy  in 
the  precinct.^ 

*  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  120.     Index  VII  Hsts  it  among  Res  Sacrae. 

2 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  535  =  Collitz,  Dial.  Inschr.  no.  289. 

3  CI.  Rev.  XVI,  1902,  p.  290.     Farnell,  op.  cit.  Ill,  p.  303. 


s       *         ^» 


56 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


1 


U 


i 

if 

h 

r 


Fick^  supposes  that  her  cult  was  very  early  and  important  in  the 
region  of  Methymna  when  he  suggests  that  the  name  of  the  town 
was  derived  from  two  words — Ma  the  great  Mother  Goddess  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  QvjjLPa,  a  place  in  Paphlagonia.  But  the  derivation 
of  Methymna  is  still  an  unanswered  problem. 

In  an  inscription  of  Methymna  dating  perhaps  third  century  B. 
C,  there  is  a  dedication  to  Agdissis;^  but  no  deity  or  mortal  of  this 
name  is  known.  As  the  inscription  occurs  on  what  appears  to  be  a 
sepulchral  stone,  it  may  be  the  name  of  a  person.  Paton  includes 
it  in  the  index  of  Nomina  Virorum  et  Mulierum,  as  well  as  among 
the  Res  Sacrae.  Pausanias  and  others^  explain  Agdistis  as  equiv- 
alent to  Cybele,  and  perhaps  Agdissis  here  also  refers  to  her. 

At  Mytilene  Conze  found  a  relief  of  a  late  period,"^  executed  with 
great  crudeness.  The  stone  is  of  grey  marble.  Cybele  sits  on  a 
throne  and  rests  her  left  arm  on  a  tympanum,  the  right  on  a  lion 
which  lies  in  her  lap.  The  locks  of  her  hair  fall  over  her  shoulders 
to  the  breast,  but  the  head  is  broken  away.  Under  her  feet  is  a 
foot  stool.  She  is  attended  by  Hermes,  whose  cult  seems  to  have 
been  connected  with  hers.^  Also  there  is  a  small  Cybele  relief  of 
usual  type,  which  Conze  had  placed  in  the  British  Museum.^ 

On  the  obverse  of  certain  coins  of  Lesbos  a  female  head  wearing 
earrings  and  turreted  headdress,  ornamented  with  acanthus  patterns, 
is  thought  to  be  perhaps  the  head  of  Cybele. ^^  Other  coins  show 
Cybele  with  Asclepius,^^  and  Cybele  with  Asclepius  and  Artemis 
of  Ephesus.^2 

Sittig  reports  fourteen  names,  a  surprisingly  high  percentage,  and 
greater  than  for  Greece  or  most  points  of  Asia  Minor. 

Dionysus 

Though  Apollo  and  Artemis  were  probably  more  important  dei- 
ties in  the  region  of  Mytilene  during  the  fifth  and  fourth  centuries 

•  Fick,  Vorgr.  Ortsnamen,  p.  62. 

•  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  524. 

•  Paus.  VII,  17,  10;  Strabo,  469  and  567;  Hesych.  s.  v.  She  is  also  named 
in  C.  I.  G.  Ill,  3886,  but  the  declension  does  not  agree  with  that  on  the  Lesbian 
stone. 

'  Conze,  op.  cit.  p.  10. 

•  See  p.  37. 

•  Conze,  /.  c. 

"  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  163,  no.  69(?),  70(?).     Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  45,  no.  98. 

"  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  45,  no.  99-100. 

"  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  46,  no.  101;  p.  47,  no.  114.  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  167. 


OTHER  DEITIES 


57 


^    *    4 


than  was  Dionysus,  the  latter  had  an  early  established  worship  in 
the  island,  and  at  Methymna  in  particular,  he  seems  to  have  been 
always  held  in  the  highest  honor.  In  Roman  Imperial  times  his 
cult  was  probably  the  principal  one  throughout  the  whole  of  Lesbos, 
as  the  coins  of  the  Emperors  show.  And  this  is  to  be  expected  in 
the  island,  so  abundant  in  grapes  and  so  celebrated  for  its  wine.^^ 
Besides  the  numismatic  evidence,  there  are  a  great  many  inscriptions 
and  passages  of  hterature;  practically  all  of  which  have  been  col- 
lected by  Wilhelm  Quandt  in  a  dissertation  entitled,  De  Baccho  ab 
Alexan\ri  Aetate  in  Asia  Minor e  Culto.^"^ 

In  very  early  times  there  were  two  important  cults  in  the  island, 
that  of  Dionysus  Bptaatos  at  the  promontory  of  Brisa  on  the  southern 
shore,^^  and  that  by  the  grave  of  Orpheus  at  Antissa  in  the  north- 
western part.  At  Brisa  the  god  was  born,  and  brought  up  by  the 
Brisai;  and  Gruppe^^  thinks  that  the  story  of  the  frightening  of  the 
Brisai  by  the  Hon  was  also  brought  here  from  Boeotia.  According 
to  Androtion,  Macar,  who  was  so  important  in  the  settlement  of 
Lesbos,^^  founded  the  temple  of  Dionysus  in  Brisa,  and  according 
to  Aelian,i8  was  priest  of  this  god.  Macar  was  by  one  tradition 
called  the  husband  of  the  Sphinx.^^  We  must  believe  that  the  Les- 
bian promontory  received  its  name  from  the  cult,  and  that  the  name 
Dionysus  Bpiaalos  was  an  older  one  imported  from  Greece,  if  we 
accept  the  view  of  Wilamowitz  and  Gruppe.^o  Bresadas  in  Boeotia,^! 
and  other  proper  names  in  northern  Greece-^  are  from  the  same 
stem,  and  the  nymphs  were  called  Brisae  in  Ceos.^^  But  most 
important  is  the  fact  that  Dionysus  was  worshipped  in  the 
town  of  Bryseae  on  Mt.  Taygetus  in   Laconia.^^      Here,    as    in   a 

'3  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  pp.  6-8,  cites  the  passages  relating  to  the  fame  of  Lesbian 
wine. 

^*  Halle,  1912,  pp.  137-46. 

"  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  Bplaa. 

"  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  pp.  296-7.  Cf.  Etym.  Mag.  s.  v.  Bpiaalos,  where  a  choice 
for  two  derivations  for  the  name  are  given— ^pL^nv  or  the  name  of  the  promontory. 

^^  See  Introduction  p.  x. 

"  AeHan,  V.  H.  13,  2. 

"  F.  H.  G.  Ill,  336,  5. 

2°  Called  also  Bprjcraalos,  Hesch.  s.  v.  See  Wilamowitz,  Hom.  Untersuch. 
p.   409,   for  variations  in   spelling.     Gruppe,  /.   c. 

"  I.  G.  VII,  2556. 

^  Sittig,  op.  cit.  pp.  89-90. 

2^  Wilamowitz,  /.  c. 

"  Wide,  Lakonische  Kulte,  p.  162. 


i^k 


58 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


few  Other  cases,  the  myths  and  cults  of  Lesbos  touch  those  of 
Laconia.-^  Wide  believes  that  the  connection  of  Dionysus  with 
Helius  in  the  worship  on  Mt.  Taygetus  has  its  parallel  in  the  fact 
that  Macar,  the  priest  of  Dionysus  in  Lesbos,  was  called  a  son  of 
Helius.  There  seems  then  to  be  fairly  conclusive  evidence  that  the 
Aeolians  took  the  cult  with  them  from  Greece,  and  Gruppe,  with 
his  suggestion  of  importation  from  Boeotia,  seems  nearer  the  truth 
than  Farnell,'-^  who  thinks  that  ''the  trail  back  to  Boeotia  is  very 
faint,"  and  believes  that  the  name  may  be  derived  from  an  autoch- 
thonous local  word  of  the  island.  Certainly  the  name  seems  well 
established  in  Lesbos  from  an  early  period,  and  Wilamowitz  has 
asserted  that  the  maiden  Briseis,  the  captive  of  Achilles,  came  from 
Lesbos."  This  opinion  of  Wilamowitz  has  been  generally  accepted. 
An  inscription  shows  that  the  name  of  a  family  of  Lesbians  was 
derived  from  this  stem;-^  and  Lesbos  has  today  a  promontory  called 
Brision  and  a  village  Brisia.^^  On  the  promontory,  in  the  ruined 
chapel  of  Hagios  Phokas,  an  inscription  was  discovered  which  dates 
perhaps  from  the  fourth  century  B.  C.,  and  records  the  dedication 
of  Megaritus,  son  of  Aeschines,  to  Dionysus  Bp-qaayku-q^.'^^  The  cult 
must  then  have  flourished  here  for  many  centuries.  Koldewey^^ 
found  ruins  on  the  promontory,  which  allow  a  fairly  clear  recon- 
struction of  a  simple  Doric  temple  in  antis  dating  first  century  B.  C.; 
and  he  regarded  the  inscription  as  a  dedicatory  tablet  of  this  temple. 
The  Doric  building  would  be  appropriate  in  honor  of  a  god  remotely 
connected  with  Dionvsus  in  Laconia. 

Miss  Margaret  Hasluck^-  believes  that  the  cult  influence  went 
out  from  Lesbos  to  Smyrna,  where  there  is  considerable  evidence 
of  a  Dionysus  Breiseus,  but  none  dating  earlier  than  Hellenistic 
times.  On  the  coins  of  Smyrna  we  find  this  cult  represented  by  a 
bearded,  elderly  manifestation  of  Dionysus. 

2s  Diod.  Sic.  V,  56. 

2«  Gruppe,  op.  cit.  p.  299.     Farnell,  op.  cit.  \,  p.  116,  note  c. 
"  Wilamowitz,  /.  c.     Tiimpel,  Philol.  1890,  pp.  89  f.  puts  forth  the  theory  that 
Chryseis  also  came  from  Lesbos. 

28 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  484,  from  Hiera.     Both  father  and  son  have  the  name  Bresus. 

"Newton,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  13. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  478  =  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  p.  445,  no.  29. 

'^  Koldewey,  op.  cit.  pp.  63-4. 

32  B.  S.  A.  XIX,  1912-13,  pp.  89  f. 


OTHER  DEITIES 


59 


I 


« 


Because  of  the  story  of  Aelian^^  which  names  Macar  as  priest  of 
Dionysus  and  tells  of  the  murder  of  Macar's  wife  and  sons,  it  is 
thought^^  that  the  Lesbian  cult  in  early  times  demanded  human 
sacrifice.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  a  passage  from  Clement  of 
Alexandrians  which  quotes  Dosidas  as  saying  that  the  Lesbians 
sacrifice  human  beings  to  Dionysus.  Gruppe  also  thinks  that  the 
Muses  were  connected  with  the  cult  at  Brisa. 

The  other  cult  of  Dionysus,  which  probably  goes  back  to  early 
times,  seems  to  have  had  its  hold  in  the  North.  Lucian^^  tells  us 
that  the  head  of  Orpheus,  when  it  was  found  by  the  Lesbians,  was 
put  in  the  Baccheion.  Maas^^  conjectures  that  this  sanctuary  was 
near  Brisa.  But  as  a  fragment  of  the  history  of  Myrsiius  states 
that  the  grave  of  Orpheus  was  near  Antissa,^^  it  is  more  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  Baccheion  was  situated  in  that  locality.  Also 
the  resemblance  of  the  story  of  Dionysus  ^aWrjv  or  K€<pa\rju,  which 
is  connected  with  Methymna,  to  the  Orpheus  legend  is  an  argument 
for  placing  the  grave  of  Orpheus  in  the  North.  And  evidently  at 
Antissa  there  was  worship  of  Dionysus  from  primitive  times,  as  one 
of  the  coins^^  shows.  It  is  described  as  having  on  the  reverse  a 
curious  head  which  has  been  called  Orpheus,  but  which  is  certainly  a 
reproduction  from  an  archaic  xoanon  of  Dionysus  ^aWrjv,*^  In 
addition  there  is  the  testimony  of  Aristotle  that  it  was  the  custom 
of  the  people  of  Antissa  to  celebrate  the  Dionysia  splendidly,  spend- 
ing great  sums  for  other  things,  and  also  for  costly  sacrifices.^^ 

In  all  probabiHty  the  cult  most  conspicuous  in  Methymna  was 
that  of  Dionysus  ^aW^u  or  Ke<pa\rjp,^^  about  which  a  strange  story 
was  told.  Pausanias^n  says  that  some  fishermen  at  Methymna 
dragged  up  in  their  nets  from  the  sea  a  mask  made  of  olive  wood. 

»3  Aelian,  V.  H.  13,  2. 

"  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  297. 

3«  Clemens  Alex.  Protrep.  Ill,  42;  F.  H.  G.  IV,  p.  400,  5;  Cook,  Zeus,  I,  p.  656. 
3«  Lucian,  Adv.  Indoct.  11  f. 
"  Maas,  Orpheus,  p.  131,  n.  9. 
"  Antig.  Hist.  Mir.  ch.  5  =  F.  H.  G.  IV,  459,  8. 
"  Head,  H.  N.  p.  560. 

*°  On  a  coin  of  Antissa,  dating  300-167  B.  C,  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  175,  no.  8,  Diony- 
sus IS  probably  represented.     Grapes  are  a  symbol  on  this  coin. 
"  Arist.  Oecon.  II,  1347  a,  25. 

*^K€<pa\r}pa  is  the  MS  reading,  ^aWrjpa  is  Lobeck's    emendation.      Lobeck, 
Aglaoph.  II,  p.  1087. 

"Paus.  X,  19,  3.  Cf.  Ernst  Maas,  Hermes,  XXIII,  1888,  pp.  74-5. 


60 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


The  features  were  somewhat  divine  but  foreign  and  not  usual  in 
Greek  gods.  So  the  people  of  Methymna  asked  the  Pythian  priest- 
ess of  which  one  of  the  gods  or  heroes  it  was  a  likeness;  and  she  bade 
them  worship  Dionysus  ^a\\r]v  or  KeipaXrjp.  Thereupon  the 
Methymnaeans,  keeping  the  wooden  image  from  the  sea,  honored  it 
with  sacrifices  and  prayers,  and  sent  a  bronze  copy  to  Delphi.  In 
Eusebius'^  the  oracle  is  given  as, 

'AXXd    Ke   ^lr)dvfxin]s    uaeraLS    ttoXv   Xcotov   earat 

^aW7]u6v  TifiCoai  ^Lovvaoio  Kaprivov. 
From  this  passage  it  looks  as  if  the  reading  of  Lobeck  in  the  Pausanias 
passage  were  very  probable,  and  it  has  met  with  general  acceptance. 
Hofer^  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  corruption  to  Ke(pa\i]v 
could  easily  have  arisen  if  originally  ^lovvaov  Ke<paXriv  ^aWrjuos  were 
written  and  corruption  arose  because  of  the  similarity  of  the  last 
two  words.  Head  thinks  that  the  coin  evidence  is  in  favor  of 
^aWrjv.^  But  Farnell^^  stands  opposed,  and  declares  that  this  word 
as  a  cult  epithet  of  Dionysus  is  a  fiction  of  Lobeck.  He  admits 
that  in  Eusebius  the  oracle  is  quoted  ^aWrjvov,  but  says  that  Eusebius 
in  his  comment,  which  follows,  shows  that  he  regards  the  adjective 
as  descriptive  of  the  material  of  the  head,  and  not  as  an  epithet  of 
Dionysus.  Farnell  connects  the  story  with  that  of  the  head  of 
Orpheus  which  came  from  the  shore  of  Thrace.  He  believes  in 
Dionysus  Ke(pa\r]u.  But  the  analogy  to  the  Orpheus  legend  and  the 
importance  evidently  given  to  the  image  in  the  celebration  of  the 
festival,  make  it  very  likely  that  KecpaXrjva  was  a  corruption  and 
that  the  real  cult  was  of  Dionysus  ^aWrjv. 

The  people  of  Methymna  must  have  possessed  a  very  old  statue 
of  Dionysus  which  was  regarded  with  particular  veneration.'*^  For 
a  Methymnaean  inscription  of  praise^^  which  reads,  (11.  8f.)  (jTC(^d- 
vcocat  'Aj^a^u*;j'a  'Ava^lcovos  tv  rots  LiiLovvuloKJi  irpd  rds  ro)  ayaKnaros  irtpupo- 
pas,  bears  witness  that  an  image  was  carried  about  at  the  festival  of 
the  Dionysia.     This  inscription  dates  perhaps  from  the  end  of  the 

**Euseb.  Praep.  Evang.  V,  36;  Anth.  Pal.  App.  VI,  67.  Cf.  Theodoret.  Graec. 
Affect.  Curatio,  X,  962,  for  same  oracle. 

«  Roscher's  Lexikon,  III,  2244. 

*«  Gruppe,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  III,  1094.  Head,  H.  N.  pp.  561-2.  Wroth, 
CI.  Rev.  XI,  1897,  pp.  227  f. 

*''  Farnell,  op.  ciL  V,  p.  127,  note  a. 

"  S.  Reinach,  B.  C.  H.  VII,  1883,  pp.  40-1. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  503  =  Collitz,  Dial.  Inschr.  no.  277.  Cf.  the  procession  with 
the  Dionysus  figure  at  Delos  and  Athens,  Nilsson,  Gr.   Feste,  pp.   280-2. 


OTHER  DEITIES 


61 


^=  4 


third  or  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  B.  C.  One  from  Eresus, 
by  a  very  probable  restoration,  also  reads  d  tQv  aya\^jLdTo)v  [wepi- 
(popa],  ^^  and  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  same  kind  of  festival 
took  place  in  the  south-west  part  of  the  island. 

In  these  two  cities  the  celebration  of  the  Dionysia  was  in  later 
times,  at  any  rate,  accompanied  by  dramatic  performances;  for  an 
inscription  concerning  arbitration  between  Methymna  and  Eresus 
of  about  167  B.  C.^^  reads  (1.54)  km  toIs  ALowalois  rw  ayojvL  rw  aKavUcjj 
in  the  decree  of  the  people  of  Methymna,  and  ewl  re  rots  ALowaloLat 
TO)  ay(A)VL  Tcov  rpaydcibLov  in  the  decree  of  the  people  of  Eresus.  Part  of 
the  festival  at  Methymna  is  apparently  described  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  499,^^ 
an  inscription  of  Roman  times.  The  lines  are  very  fragmentary, 
but  seem  to  tell  of  service  in  a  temple.^  Nilsson^  believes  the  festival 
was  in  two  parts;  the  second,  the  Fannychis,  being  celebrated  by 
women  exclusively.  But  in  the  first  men  also  took  part,  as  the 
masculine  forms  show.  OvpaoL,  at  the  end  indicates,  he  thinks,  an 
orgiastic  festival. 

At  Methymna  one  of  the  months  was  named  Dionysos,^^  and  at 
Eresus  the  month  'x\.yeppdvLos^^  was  named  no  doubt  in  honor  of  this 
god.  The  Bacchic  Agrionia  was  a  festival  wild  in  character,  and 
occurred  especially  in  Boeotia.^^  From  there  it  spread  to  the  islands. 
Agrionios  was  also  a  month  of  the  Boeotian  calendar. ^^  Here  seems 
to  be  another  trace  in  Lesbos  of  northern  Greek  influence. 

Hesychius^^  gives  Mr]evtxvalos  as  an  epithet  of  Dionysus  and  Eusta- 
thius  says  Methymna  was  named  for  Dionysus,  but  the  common 
epithet  is  MedvyLvalos,  derived  from  p,kdv  and  similar  to  Auatos,  Eutos, 
etc.,^0  and  has  probably  nothing  to  do  with  the  name  of  the  town. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  527,  1.  28.     See  also  11.  24  and  ?,Z. 

"  Wiegand,  MUet,  III,  no.  152, 11.  54,  76,  82  and  88. 

'2  Published  also  in  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  pp.  440  f.  =  Collitz  Dial.  Inschr.  no.  279. 

"  The  olKovofios  must  not  be  less  than  40  years  old,  he  must  keep  the  sanctuary 
within  and  forbid  all  strangers  to  the  cult,  and  see  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  laws, 
B.  C.  H.  /.  c. 

"  Nilsson,  op.  cit.  p.  283.  Paton  thinks  this  a  woman's  festival,  I.  G.  XII, 
ii,  499,  note. 

«I.  G.  XII,  ii,  502,1.  12. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  527, 1  45. 

»'  Daremberg  at  Saglio,  Diet,  des  Antiq.  I,  p.  167. 

»*  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  I,  896.  It  also  occurs  as  a  man's  name  in 
Boeotia,  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  94. 

"  Hesychius,  s.  v.  Eustath.  Schol.  D.  329,  4. 

"  Plut.  Quaest.  Conviv.  Ill,  2,  1;  Athen.  VIII,  363  b. 


A 


62 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


OTHER  DEITIES 


63 


From  Bresa  doubtless  a  cult  of  Dionysus  was  later  established  in 
Mvtilene.  But  the  earliest  evidence  of  his  recosjnition  in  the  latter 
place  is  furnished  by  coins  of  the  fourth  and  third  centuries  B.  C, 
on  which  representations  of  the  god  himself,  the  thyrsus,  or  bunches 
of  grapes  appear.  An  archaic  simulacrum  of  Dionysus  is  a  familiar 
type,  and  gives  indication  that  the  god  of  Mytilene  was  in  some 
respects  like  to  the  Dionysus  of  Methymna.  Terminal  figures  of 
him  appear  first  on  silver  coins  of  the  second  and  first  centuries  and 
represent  the  god  draped,  w^ith  the  hair  falling  in  two  long  curls. 
On  the  head  is  a  tall  headdress,  or  an  ivy  garland.^^  Often  the 
figure  is  placed  on  the  prow  of  a  ship^^  as  a  symbol  of  the  wine  export. 
In  the  time  of  the  Emperors  of  the  second  and  third  centuries  he 
is  most  prominent  of  all  the  deities,  his  closest  rival  being  Artemis. 
The  favorite  type  becomes  the  Tyche  of  Mytilene,  seated  on  a  throne, 
in  her  right  hand  a  patera  and  in  her  left  a  term  of  Dionysus.*^^  Wroth 
is  correct  in  saying  that  the  Tyche  of  Mytilene  holds  this  term 
apparently  because  Dionysus  was  then  the  chief  deity  of  the  city. 

Longus,^"*  about  four  centuries  after  Christ,  in  describing  the  region 
near  Mytilene  says,  ''In  the  very  middle  of  the  park  was  an  altar 
dedicated  to  Dionysus.  Ivy  encircled  the  altar,  and  vine  branches 
the  temple.  Within,  the  temple  had  pictures  relating  to  Dionysus — 
the  delivery  of  Semele,  Ariadne  sleeping,  Lycurgus  in  fetters,  Pen- 
theus  torn  in  pieces,  the  victories  over  the  people  of  India  and  the 
metamorphosis  of  the  Tyrrhenian  sailors.  Everywhere  were  Satyrs 
treading,  everywhere  Bacchantes;  nor  was  Pan  omitted.  He  was 
represented  as  sitting  on  a  rock  and  playing  his  pipe,  like  to  him  who 
supplies  the  tune  for  the  men  as  they  tread  and  the  w^omen  as  they 
dance."  In  the  rural  districts  of  Lesbos,  Dionysus  was  associated 
very  closely  with  Pan  and  the  Nymphs,^^  and  this  description  seems 
to  have  been  based  on  some  real  temple  and  altar  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  city.  Though  the  account  is  late,  there  had  probably  not  been 
much  change  for  several  centuries  in  general  appearance. 

•^  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  Lxxvi  and  pp.  193-4. 

«2  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  196. 

"  W'roth,  Cat.  p.  IxLx  and  pp.  202-15.  On  certain  coins  of  the  2nd  and  1st 
century,  Dionysus  is  represented  on  the  obverse  and  a  term  of  him  on  the  reverse 
of  the  same  coin,  Wroth,  Cat.  pp.  193  f. 

"  Longus,  Past.  IV,  3. 

"  Many  passages  in  Longus  indicate  this.  His  detailed  descriptions  of  Lesbos 
have  led  scholars  to  believe  that  he  was  a  Lesbian.  Cf.  Christ,  Gr.  Littera- 
turgesch.  II,  pp.  653  f. 


^-Nf 


V 


The  exact  nature  of  the  god  at  Mytilene  is  difficult  to  determine, 
but  perhaps  his  cult  closely  resembled  the  one  at  Methymna.  So 
Wroth  thinks  because  of  an  archaic  simulacrum^^  which  is  a  familiar 
type  on  the  coins.  He  adds  that  this  Dionysus  is  just  such  a  type 
as  we  should  expect  at  Methymna,  and  belongs  to  a  well-known  series 
of  archaic  representations  of  the  wine  god.  TumpeP'  sees  in  the 
character  of  Dionysophanes  of  Longus'  romance  a  clear  Dionysus, 
and  in  the  poet  Longus  himself  an  dpxtpeus  of  Mytilene,  mentioned 
in  an  inscription^^  of  that  city,  AdXos  .  .  .  os  Aoyyos  Aiopvalodc^pjos 
TTttts  AvlprjXlov  "E]pfMo\aov;  but  there  is  no  conclusive  evidence  for  such 
an  identification.  In  fact  the  forms  of  the  letters  show  that  the 
inscription  is  of  too  early  a  date. 

The  only  cult  name  furnished  by  inscriptions^^  f^j.  Dionysus  in 
Mytilene  is  that  of  'E^Sofievs,  which  belongs  to  about  the  time  of 
Hadrian  or  later.  The  title  is  usually  applied  to  Apollo,  but  here 
in  Lesbos  it  may  mean  that  there  was  a  sacrifice  to  Dionysus  on 
the  seventh  day,  as  was  a  custom  for  Apollo  and  other  deities.  ^^  It 
is  not  surprising  to  find  the  number  seven  used  among  the  Lesbian 
cults,  as  that  number  plays  an  important  role  in  Boeotia  as  well  as 
in  the  myths  of  Lesbos.  ^^ 

At  Pyrgi,  near  Mytilene,  was  found  a  round  altar  of  dark  marble 
dedicated  to  Aiovmo:  Geco  by  an  inscription  of  about  the  third  century 
A.  D.72  ^igQ  ^  dedication  from  Mytilene  was  recently  pubKshed 
by  Papageorgiu.  Two  other  inscriptions  of  Mytilene  seem  to  men- 
tion Dionysus,  but  need  of  much  restoration  forbids  a  definite 
decision. '^^ 

The  Dionysia  at  Mytilene  was  a  very  important  celebration,  and 
it  was  frequently  decreed  that  men  be  praised  in  that  festival  for 

"  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  Ixvi.  See  also  P.  Gardner,  Types  of  Greek  Coins,  p.  79 
and  PI.  XV,  no.  II.  ''The  head  in  particular  is  of  a  [distinctly  non-Hellenic 
type,  with  the  tall  headdress,  and  long  pointed  beard. " 

•'  Tumpel,  Philol.  XLVIII,  1889,  p.  115,  no.  31. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  II,  ii,  249  =  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  pp.  431  f. 

"L  G.  XII,  ii,  123. 

'<>  Eitrem,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  VII,  2579. 

''  Tumpel,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  1949  f.  and  Roscher,  Abh.  der  Sachs.  Gesell. 
der  Wiss.  XXI,  no.  14.  The  seven  Lesbian  maidens  of  Homer,  the  seven  Muses 
and  the  seven  sons  and  daughters  of  Macar  especially  iUustrate  this. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  124. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  64  and  136.  No.  64  seems  to  be  a  decree  placed  in  his  temple, 
and  no.  136  a  dedication. 


64 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


OTHER  DEITIES 


65 


i  I 


)  I 


their  good  will  and  benefactions  to  the  city.'''  The  inscription 
h  Tols  ALovvcFLOLaL  TO)  ajcovL  [tu)p  Tpaycc6U(jou\  refers  to  the  dramatic 
contests  held  in  the  theater  west  of  the  city.  Ruins  of  this  struc- 
ture^^ show  that  the  last  building  dates  from  the  third  century  B.  C, 
or  later.  It  must  have  been  especially  beautiful,  as  Pompey  is  said 
to  have  taken  a  plan  of  it  for  the  erection  of  his  theater  in  Rome.^^ 
Besides  the  Dionysia,  there  was  also  the  festival  Theodaisia  at 
Mytilene.  According  to  Suidas  this  celebration  was  in  honor  of 
Dionysus  and  the  Nymphs/^  sometimes  of  other  deities  and  heroes, 
and  was  observed  in  the  islands  particularly.^^  The  fragmentary 
Lesbian  inscription'^  seems  to  show  that  a  distribution  of  wine  was 
ordered  to  the  magistrates  and  other  officials,  and  that  choristers 
took  part  in  the  ceremonies. ^^  The  two  following  inscriptions  of 
the  Corpus  must  also  treat  of  the  same  festival.  In  nos.  69  and 
70  the  name  of  the  god  is  given  as  Z6vvv(to%,  and  no.  69  appears  to 
be  concerned  with  gifts  from  Dionysus,  while  no.  70  is  connected 
with  his  rites.  All  three  inscriptions  are  of  late  Roman  times. ^^ 
In  the  passage  from  Aelian  cited  on  page  59  he  speaks  of  jpLer-qpibes 
of  Dionysus,  which  may  mean  that  a  festival  in  his  honor  was  held 
every  three  years  in  the  region  of  Brisa,  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
island.      Longus  describes  a  Dionysiac  festival  "at  the  birth  of  the 


wme. 


"82 


Paton  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  81,  from  Mytilene,  restores  so  that  we 
have  the  name  of  a  month  [0eo]5at(7tos;  but  BechteP  because  of  the 
space  reads  a  shorter  name  Aatcrtos.     In  either  case  there  is  probably 

^*  The  Dionysia  is  mentioned  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  5,  1.  9  (restored);  15,  1.  29; 
18,  1.  9;  49,  I.  4  (restored,  doubtful);  64;  Bechtel,  Aeolica,  no.  38  and  Papageor- 
giu,  Uned.  Inschr.  v.  Myt.  no.  1,  1.  16=  Bechtel,  Aeolica,  no.  7;  Wiegand,  Milet, 
III,  no.  152  a,  note  (Mytilene?). 

^5  Described  by  Koldewey,  op.  cit  p.  9;  Conze,  op.  cit.  p.  9. 

^*  Plutarch,  Pompey,  42. 

'^  Suidas,  s.  v.  ' \aTv6ponla\  Hesych.  s.  v.  0eo5atatos.  Daremberg  et  Saglio,  op. 
cit.  s.  V.  Theodaisia. 

78  Farnell,  op.  cit.  V,  p.  198. 

79 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  68  =  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  pp.  424-5. 

*°  See  1.  12.  Bechtel,  Aeolica,  no.  13,  thinks  he  recognizes  in  1.  4,  EAA  .  .  . 
a  festival  like  the  Theodaisia,  and  his  reading  is  indeed  more  reasonable  than 
Paton's. 

81  See  C.  I.  G.  II,  2167,  note,  and  Hoffmann,  Gr.  Dial.  II,  p.  514. 

82  Longus,  Past.  II,  1-2. 

83  Aeolica,  no  18.  Aat<nos  is  more  likely  because  of  the  space,  but  Qeobalaiot 
is  preferable  because  of  I.  G.  XI,  iv.  1064. 


Ik       0f        W 


k 


influence  from  the  Dionysus  cult.^^  An  inscription  I.  G.  XI,  iv, 
1064,  found  at  Delos,  gives  apparently  the  same  name  for  a  month 
in  Mytilene,  according  to  Roussel's  reading;  which  would  seem  to 
confirm  Paton's  longer  form  in  the  Lesbian  inscription.  But  the 
stone  reads  GEAAISm,  so  that  Bechtel  gives  the  month  the  name 
eeXato-tos,^^  deriving  it  from  deKei  ra  aXaia  and  says  that  only  in 
Mytilene  is  this  word  found.  One  of  the  Lesbians  recorded  in  I.  G. 
XII,  ii,  210,  has  the  name,  and  Wilhelm^^  suggests  that  the  man  is 
named  from  the  month.  He  reads  Qebalam  in  both  cases,  which 
indeed  seems  preferable. 

From  a  scholium  to  Lycophron,  1.  212,  we  learn  that  there  was  a 
Dionysus  'EwpxTys  in  Lesbos,  called  so  because  his  mysteries  were 
performed  with  dancing;  or  because  he  spent  his  time  among  the 
rows  of  vines  and  plants;  or  because  he  received  the  name  from 
Enorches,  son  of  Thyestes  and  Daito.  This  epithet  probably  belongs 
to  the  region  of  Mytilene,  and  perhaps  Daito  is  to  be  connected 
with  the  festival  and  month  there. 

There  is  the  association  of  the  Orpheus  myth  with  the  Dionysus 
temple  and  one  or  two  other  indications  to  show  that  the  Lesbian 
Dionysus  festivals  were  attended  with  music  and  song.  In  fact 
it  is  believed  by  some  scholars  that  the  dithyramb  may  have  origi- 
nated in  Lesbos.  8^  At  any  rate  its  development  is  closely  associated 
with  the  Lesbian  Arion. 

In  Lesbos,  as  at  Argos,  there  was  perhaps  a  cult  of  Linus  con- 
nected with  the  Dionysus  worship,  according  to  statements  about 
him  by  Theophrastus  and   Myrsilus,   the  Lesbians. ^s 

Sittig^^  gives  seventeen  names  of  people  derived  from  the  Dionysus 
cult.     Only  Zeus,  Apollo,  and  Artemis  furnish  a  greater  number. 

On  a  coin  of  Mytilene  of  the  rime  of  Lucius  Verus,^^  and  on  one 
of  Methymna  of  the  rime  of  Commodus,  Demeter  or  Cora  is  shown 
between  Athena  and  Dionysus.  A  Marcus  Aurelius  coin^^  bears 
a  term  on  a  prow  between  the  same  two  divinities.     On  a  coin  of 

"  Dittenberger,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  IV,  2015. 

"  Aeolica,  p.  60. 

"  I.  G.  XI,  iv,  1064,  note. 

•'  Cf.  Smyth,  Gr.  Melic  Poets,  pp.  xlv  and  xlvi. 

"  F.  H.  G.  IV,  p.  459.     See  MuUer's  note. 

"  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  166. 

•"Jahresh.   des   Oesterr.    Arch.  Inst.  VII,   1904,  p.  24;   Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI, 
p.  51,  no.  12;  p.  56,  no.  3i. 

•^  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  34,  no.  20. 


66 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


OTHER  DEITIES 


67 


} 


the  time  of  Septimius  Severus^^  Dionysus  and  Athena  stand  with 
their  attributes;  and  on  another  Commodus  coin^^  Dionysus  in  short 
chiton,  and  holding  a  cantharus  and  thyrsus,  with  a  panther  at  his 
feet  stands  between  Apollo  and  Athena.  An  Aurelius  coin  groups 
Demeter  and  Dionysus.^  It  is  rather  striking  that  Athena  and 
Dionysus  are  so  often  depicted  together.  If  the  selection  is  made 
merely  because  of  their  importance,  it  is  surprising  that  Artemis 
is  not  included  at  this  period.  A  coin  of  the  Antonine  period  repre- 
sents Lesbonax  in  the  character  of  Dionvsus. 

Besides  representations   on   coins,   it  is  reported   that  a   marble 
statue  was  found  representing  perhaps  a  reclining  Dionysus. ^^ 

The  representations  on  coins  of  Lesbos  are  as  follows : — 

Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  159,  no.  1%;  p.  161,  no.  56(?),  58(?),  59(?);  p.  163, 
no.  74-5;  p.  164,  no.  77-82;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  34,  no.  20;  p.  41, 
no.  62;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  49,  no.  2;  p.  50,  no.  5;  p.  51,  no.  12;  Macdonald, 
op.  cit.  II,  p.  313,  no.  7;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  559. 

Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  193,  no.  106-39;  p.  199,  no.  164  (Lesbona.x); 
p.  202,  no.  178-80;  p.  203,  no.  184-5;  p.  205,  no.  195  (countermark), 
197;  p.  208,  no.  210  (countermark);  p.  210,  no.  216;  p.  211,  no.  220, 
223-4;  p.  212,  no.  225-6,  229;  p.  213,  no.  229-30;  p.  214,  no.  233-5; 
Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  44,  no.  90-4,  95(?),  96(?);  p.  48,  no.  116  (Les- 
bonax); p.  54,  no.  151;  p  59,  no.  182;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  61,  no.  67-76;  p. 
64,  no.  84-6;  p.  76,  no.  143-5;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  503;  Macdonald, 
op.  cit.  II,  p.  316,  no.  6-11;  p.  319,  no.  21-3;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  562;  Abh.  d. 
Bayr.  Ak.  d.  Wiss.  1890,  p.  634. 

Methymna:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  182,  no.  39,  40,  42;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p. 
38,  no.  41;  p.  39,  no.  53;  p.  41,  no.  62;  SuppL  VI,  p.  56,  no.  33-4;  Eckhel, 
D.  N.  II,  p.  502;  Head.  H.  N.  p.  561;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  315,  no.  7. 

Antissa:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  175,  no.  8;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  560  (Orpheus  or  Diony- 
sus); Abh.  d.  Bayr.  Ak.  d.  Wiss.  1890,  p.  633. 

Nape:  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  78,  no.  151. 

Koinon:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  169,  no.  1-2;  p.  170,  no.  6  (countermark)  (?); 
Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  501. 

Satyr  or  Silenus-Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  159,  no.  39-42;  p.  164,  no.  76-8; 
Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  32,  no.  1-13;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  313, 
no.  7.     MytUene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  196,  no.  139;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  562. 

Maenad-Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  162,  no.  67;  p.  168,  no.  122. 

Cantharus-Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  160,  no.  46.  Methymna:  Wroth, 
Cat.  p.  178,  no.  11-2;  p.  179,  no.  17-9;  p.  180,  no.  28-34;  p.  190,  no. 
72-3;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  561;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  315. 

w  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  41,  no.  62;  Wroth,Cat.  p.  169,  no.  1. 
•»  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  182,  no.  39. 
»*  W^roth,  Cat.  p.  169,  no.  2. 
"A.  J.  A.  VII,  1891,  p.  513. 


^^. 


\ me  branch  or  grapes-  Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  160,  no.  46.  Mytilene- 
Wroth,  Cat.  p.  190,  no.  68-70;  p.  196,  no.  144  (countermark);  Mionnet' 
Descr.  Ill,  p^  44  no.  90;  p.  45,  no.  91-2;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  60,  no.  59;  p. 
62,  no.  73.  Methymna:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  171,  no.  2;  p.  179,  no.  18-20- 
p.  180,  no  25-6;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  39,  no.  50.  Eresus:  Wroth,' 
Cat.  p.  1/6,  no.  6. 

Thyrsus-Mytilene:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  187,  no.  30,  32;  p.  191,  no.  81-3(^). 
Macdonald,  op.  cit.  IT,  p.  316,  no.  1(?). 

Eirene 

A  stone  with  an  inscription  dating  from  the  first  century  B  C 
and  readmg  PANA2  is  restored  by  Paton  to  read  Elpduas  or  Kpduas. 
But  either  restoration  is  very  doubtful. ^^ 

Eriboia 

Eriboia,  a  name  that  occurs  in  an  inscription  of  Mytilene  which 
treats  of  a  Dionysus  festival,  cannot  be  identified.  Paton  includes 
the  name  under  Res  Sacrae.^^ 

Erinyes 

The  Erinyes  are  designated  in  a  Lesbian  inscription^^  as  'Axa- 
palTT^roL,  'Hhe  implacable,  the  inexorable,  "^^^  and  Bresus  is  named  as 
their  attendant.  The  adjective  is  used  of  deities  elsewhere  but 
with  a  more  general  significance.ioo  This  inscription  implies'  that 
the  Ermyes  had  a  cult  in  the  region  of  Hiera. 

Eros 

Sappho,  perhaps  following  a  Lesbian  tradition,  is  said  to  have 
represented  Eros  as  the  son  of  Ge  and  Uranus.i«i  A  passage  in  the 
pastoral  of  Longus^^^  tells  that  Eros  was  reverenced  with  the  Nymphs 
and  Pan,  and  that  sacrifices  were  also  offered  to  ''the  winged  boy 
the  companion  of  the  Nymphs."  He  says  that  an  altar  of  Eros 
Hoin-nv  was  set  up.  Such  a  story  as  Daphnis  and  Chloe  may  not  be 
taken  too  Hterally,  and  moreover  the  evidence  is  late.  Yet  there 
were  apparently  for  many  centuries  among  the  shepherds  of  the  island 

■^  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  130,  from  Mytilene. 
"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  70  and  Index  VII. 

"  I;  ^-  ^^^'  "'  ^^^'  ^-  14  =  Bechtel,  Bezzenberger's  Beitrage,  V,  p.  133,  no.  34 
"  Herwerden,  Lex.  Gr.  s.  v. 

'''  Cf.  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  I,  2666;  Roscher's  Le.xikon,  I   2864 
'''  Sappho,  Frg.  132,  Bergk. 
"^'Longus,  Past.  I,  8;  IV,  39. 


68 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


OTHER  DEITIES 


69 


such  devotions  as  Longus  describes,  and  such  association  with  the 

Nymphs  and  Pan.     At   Mytilene  there  is  record  of  a  man  named 
Eros.103 

In  the  collection  of  antiquities  belonging  to  Fachri  Bey,  a  former 
governor  of  Mytilene,  half  a  marble  torso  of  Eros  was  found. ^^'^  A 
terra-cotta  head  of  Eros  has  also  been  discovered.  It  is  of  childish 
type,  with  a  plait  along  the  top  of  the  head,  and  the  hair  waved 
back  at  each  side  of  the  face.^*^^ 

ETETHPLV  ZEBAITxV 

EveTT^pia  Ze/Saard  is  named  on  the  base  of  a  statue,  EG.  XII,  ii,  262. 

Cello 

TeXXu,  a  form  of  Empousa,  was  supposed  to  !)e  a  maiden  who, 
dying  young,  became  a  spirit  which  carried  off  children. ^'>«  Probably 
the  myth  was  first  localized  in  Lesbos. 

Ilebe 

A  terra-cotta  figure,  which  is  perhaps  Hebe,^'''  holds  a  procJwos 
in  her  right  hand,  and  in  her  left  a  cup  (?)  for  libation. 

Hecate 

Two  statues  of  Hecate  have  been  found,  but  no  other  evidence 
for  her  cult  has  been  obtained.  One  statue^'^^  represents  a  triple 
Hecate  and  was  found  in  the  midst  of  fragments  of  marble  columns. 
The  other^o9  ^^.^^  discovered  on  the  little  island  between  the  two 
harbors  of  Mytilene,  in  a  place  which  was  the  oldest  part  of  the  town. 

Helius 

After  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  there  was  much  intercourse 
and  commerce  between  Lesbos  and  Rhodes.  In  consideration  of 
the  relative  positions  of  the  islands  and  the  sea-faring  dispositions 

''n.  G.  Xn,  ii,  430  (gravestone). 

i°*  Now  in  the  museum  at  Constantinople,  Athen.  Mitth.  XV,  1890,  p  ?>Si  = 
A.  J.   A.   VI,   1890,  p.   552. 

"^  Cat.  Terra-cottas  Br.  Mus.  no.  416. 

^^  Hesych.  s.  v. 

i^Xat.  op.  cit.  no.  454. 

»°»A.  J.  A.  VII,  1891,  p.  513  =  Rev.  Arch.  XIX,  1892,  p.  112.  The  triple 
Hecate  was  later  in  art  representation  than  the  single  form. 

"»Arch.  Anz.  1914,  p.  127. 


>-^--^ 


«T'     JOT       ^ 


Of  the  peoples,  it  is  likely  that  from  early  times  there  was  some 
connection.  And  through  the  influence  of  Rhodes  it  is  probable 
that  Hehus,  even  from  the  period  of  settlement,  was  recognized  as 
a  deity  m  Lesbos,  since  Macar,  the  great  colonist,  was  said  by  one 
tradition  to  be  the  son  of  Hehus  and  Rhodes.^^o 

In  Mytilene   the  cult   seems   to   have   existed  in   Roman   times 
according  to  mscriptional  and  numismatic  records.     The  inscription' 

Lx?"  ^Ji^nf'  ^^^'  '^^'  ^^^^  Pompeius  Ethicus  honored  KaWlvaKo, 
HXttos(?)].iii  Though  KaKKlvetKo,  has  not  elsewhere  been  found  as 
an  epithet  of  Hehus,  it  is  quite  a  fitting  one.  More  certain  evidence 
IS  that  afTorded  by  a  coin  of  Mytilene  of  about  the  first  century 
B.  C.,  which  represents  a  bust  of  Helius,  draped  and  radiate  ^^^^ 
An  inscription  found  at  Mytilene  gives  a  name  derived  from  Helius.^^-^ 
The  only  other  proof  of  his  recognition  in  Lesbos^^^  comes  from 
Eresus  and  dates  from  the  last  half  of  the  fourth  centurv  B.  C.  In 
the  trial  of  the  tyrant  Eurysilaus,  the  judges  were  to  swear  by  Zeus 
and  Hehus.  This  would  not,  however,  imply  a  cult  worship  of  him 
at  Eresus. 

Muses 

In  a  country  famous  for  both  its  music  and  poetry,  the  Muses 
early  attained  importance.  The  Lesbian  tradition  regarding  them 
is  unusual,  for  their  number  is  seven,iio  and  their  names  are  quite 
different  from  those  commonly  attributed  to  the  nine  Muses.  Epi- 
charmus  names  seven  IVIuses,  Neilo,  Tritone,  Asopo,  Heptapore,  Ache- 

»°  Diod.  Sic.  V,  56. 

I"  The  restoration  seems  probable.  There  is  a  possibility  that  a  man  named 
Callmicus  is  honored.  Pompeius  Ethicus  (Cf.  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  add.  653)  seems  to 
have  been  a  Lesbian  and  not  a  foreigner.  The  name  Pompeius  occurred  frequently 
in  Lesbos  in  Roman  times  because  of  the  favor  which  Pompey  showed  the  Les- 
bians. 

^'nVroth,  Cat.  p.  197,  no.  153-7;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  43,  no.  79;  Suppl. 
VI,  p.  61,  no.  63-4.  ^^ 

"^  L  G.  XII,  ii,  133. 

»^I  G.  XII,  ii,  526  c,  1.  20.  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  114,  a  dedication  to  Zeus  Helius 
Moas  Serapis  and  Isis  may  not  be  counted,  as  it  was  dedicated  by  a  citizen  of 
Ale.xandna. 

"«  Arnob.  Ill,  37  (quoting  Myrsilus).  Tumpel,  Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  1949 
and  Philol.  1889,  pp.  99  f.,  thinks  the  number  "seven"  here  bears  a  relation 
to  the  Oriental  number  -  seven"  and  he  traces  an  undedying  connection  between 
the  seven  Muses,  the  seven  Lesbian  maidens  in  Homer,  and  the  constellation  of 
iieremce.     See  also  Roscher,  Abh.  der  Sachs.  Gesell.  der  Wiss.  XXI    no    14 


1 


70 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


lois,  Tipoplo,  Rhodia,  all  obviously  formed  from  names  of  streams. '^^ 
TUmpel  thinks  the  seven  Muses  belong  to  an  earlier  tradition 
than  that  represented  by  the  Aeolic  settlement. ^^^  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  quoting  Myrsilus,  the  Lesbian/^^  however,  places  their 
origin  in  the  period  represented  by  Macar  and  gives  their  story  as 
follows.  Macar,  king  of  the  Lesbians,  was  always  quarrehng  with 
his  wife.  Megaclo,  the  daughter,  w^as  therefore  grieved  for  her 
mother  and  bought  the  Muses  as  handmaidens,  calUng  them  MOo-at 
in  the  AeoUc  dialect  (MoTo-at  according  to  Miiller,  F.  H.  G.  IV,  457); 
she  also  taught  them  to  sing  and  play  on  the  cithara  the  deeds  of 
olden  times.  They  therefore  charmed  Macar  and  put  an  end  to 
his  rage.  For  this  Megaclo  dedicated  a  thank  offering  to  them  of  a 
bronze  stele  on  account  of  her  mother,  and  gave  command  that  they 
be  honored  at  all  the  shrines.  The  statement  of  Clement  that 
all  the  cities  set  aside  precincts  of  the  Muses  shows  the  importance 
of  the  cult.  There  is  perhaps  a  blending  of  Phoenician  and  Thes- 
salian  influence.  Gruppe^^^  says  that  the  Lesbian  founder  of  the  cult 
was  Crinoeis,  which  denotes  a  Thessalian  source.  He  beheves  that 
because  Macar  was  priest  of  Dionysus  at  Brisa,  the  Muses  belong  to 
the  divinities  of  Brisa.  There  is  danger  of  drawing  too  many  con- 
clusions from  these  myths,  though  many  of  the  stories  are  evi- 
dently aetiological,  originating  about  well-known  names,  and  ex- 
plaining institutions  and  customs,  the  origin  of  which  had  become 
obscure.  Purely  fanciful  seems  to  be  the  explanation  given  in  the 
Etymologicum  Magnum — ^-^  MeXos  .  .  .  Mv(7lijl(3\os  (sic)  5e  rds  h 
AecTjSw  yevo/jLeuas  -rrapdhovs  ^iovaas  eirl  to.  Trevdrj  ipoLTav  /cat  dpr]veiv'  oBev  krr- 
€KpdT7]ae  TCL  qidoiieva  iik\ea  KKrjdrivaL. 

Sappho  many  times  invoked  the  Muses,  and  sometimes  with  a 
descriptive  adjective  which  causes  us  to  believe  that  she  had  in 
mind   some   particular   representation   of   them.^^^ 

^^*  Epicharmus,  Frg.  41,  KaibeL  Though  Epicharmus  seems  to  have  known 
the  tradition  of  seven  Muses,  these  names  were  probably  invented  by  him,  and  are 
net  those  of  the  original  Lesbian  Muses.  The  latter  were  doubtless  lost  by  the 
seventh  century.     Sappho,  Frg.  82,  Bergk,  calls  on  Calliope. 

11^  Roscher's  Lexikon,  II,  1947. 

"*  Clem.  Alex.  Protrep.  II,  31.  Cf.  Arnob.  IV,  24,  Numquid  ex  nobis  Myrsilus 
est  auctor,  qui  Macari  filiae  Megalconis  ancillulas  profitetur  fuisse  Musas?  The 
name  varies,  Megaclo  or  Megalco. 

»i»  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  1078  and  p.  296. 

^20  Etym.  Mag.  577,  16  =  F.  H.  G.  IV,  p.  457,  4. 

*2'  Sappho,  Frg.  60,  Bergk,  KaWiKOfxoL  re  MoZcrai.  Frg.  26,  co  xnva6dpovt  MoOa' 
ivuTires,  is  probably  not  genuine. 


^ 


OTHER  DEITIES 


71 


I 


1^^ 


fPr 


There  is  definite  mention  of  a  statue  in  Mytilene  representing  one 
of  the  Muses  holding  a  uatx^vK'nP'^  Athenaeus  says  the  sculptor 
Lesbothemis  made  it. 

An  inscription  from  a  place  near  Palaiokipos,^23  across  the  Euripus 
from  Mytilene,  reads  Tpo^pifjLov  t]ov  (3.  Trjs  .  .  .  [yvvaiKos  r^s  k]fjLTJs 
Moi;[o-as  Kal  tu)v  e^xdv  TeK]pcx)v.  Paton  considers  MoOo-a  the  name  of  the 
wife  of  Trophimus,  but  even  the  restoration  is  doubtful.  One  other 
name  of  a  person  derived  from  the  Muses  has  been  found. ^^4 

Nymphs 

The  descriptions  of  Lesbos  by  Longus  in  the  Pastoral,  ''Daphnis 
and  Chloe,"  though  they  cannot  be  taken  too  literally,  clearly  attest 
that  the  worship  of  the  Nymphs  w^as  most  important  among  the 
rural  population. ^^^  In  the  prooemium  Longus  tells  of  a  grove  of 
the  Nymphs,  fair  with  many  trees,  flowery,  well-watered,  with  one 
spring  which  nourished  all  the  flowers  and  trees.  Later  a  Nymphaion 
is  described  in  a  cave,i26  '^  spacious  in  the  rock,  concave  within,  con- 
vex without.  In  it  were  statues  of  the  Nymphs  made  of  marble. 
Their  feet  were  bare,  their  arms  naked  to  the  shoulders,  their  hair 
falling  loosely  about  their  necks,  a  girdle  about  their  waists,  a  smile 
in  their  eyes.  Their  appearance  was  that  of  a  band  of  dancers.'' 
And  there  were  dedications  of  the  older  shepherds— milk  pails, 
flutes  and  shepherd's  pipes.  On  the  way  to  the  pasture  it  was  a 
custom  to  sit  by  the  shrine,  and  on  their  return  the  shepherds  wor- 
shipped and  brought  flowers  or  fruit  or  green  leaf  or  Hbation  of  milk.^" 
They  swore  by  Pan  and  the  Nymphs.^^s  jhe  Nymphs  also  appeared 
to  them  in  visions. ^^^ 

The  Nymphs  in  Lesbos  v/ere  given  the  appropriate  name  'ETrt/xry- 
Xt5es;^^^  and  three  classes  of  them  are  distinguished,  MeXtat,  Apvades 

"2  Athen.  IV,  182  f.  and  XIV,  635  a.  For  this  instrument,  which  seems  to 
have  been  oriental,  see  Diimmler,  Athen.  Mitth.  XI,  1886,  p.  38,  n.  1. 

"'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  495,  1.  6.      See  Index  I,  Nomina  Virorum  et  Mulierum. 

"*I.  G.  XII,  ii,  394.  MoDcrai,  which  occurs  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  443,1.  1,  is  used  in 
a  figurative  sense. 

^"  The  Pastoral  was  dedicated  to  Eros,  Pan  and  the  Nymphs. 

^2«  Longus,  Past,  I,  4.  Cf.  also  I,  13;  II,  39;  III,  12. 

*"  For  sacrifices  and  observances  to  Pan  and  the  Nymphs  see  pp.  72-3. 

128  Longus,  Past.  II,  17;  II,  39;  III,  16;  IV,  18.  An  oath  common  among 
country  folk.     Cf.  Theoc.  I,  12;  IV,  29. 

i2»  Longus,  Past.  II,  23. 

"°  Longus,  Past.  II,  39. 


72 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


OTHER  DEITIES 


73 


and  "EXetot,^^^  and  all  are  fair,  all  musical.  One  of  these  was  the 
mother  of  Echo.  Hesychius^^-  gives  another  name  for  the  Nymphs 
among  the  Lesbians,  'Euvr^atades.  Still  another  class  of  Nymphs, 
Bp2aaL,^^^  apparently  received  their  names  from  the  Lesbian  promon- 
tory of  Brisa. 

An   interesting   recognition    of   the   Nymphs   in   connection   with 
springs  and  streams  is  attested  by  a  metrical  inscription  of  Imperial 

times^^'*  which  reads, 

Zot  \l\aTavr]LS  durJKe  KOprj  Aids  vdaToeaaa 
llr}yrii>,  'Svijnpdu)i>  "Op<fLTe  vdyia  ip'iKov. 
The  feeling  that  the  hills  and  woods  and  streams  are  inhabited 

by  such  divinities  is  found  even  today  among  the  country  people 

of  Lesbos. ^^^ 

Orthriis 

Orthrus  occurs  in  a  very  fragmentary  inscription  from  Mytilene,^^® 
but   the   context   is   too   uncertain   to   determine   anything   definite 

about  him  in  Lesbos. 

Pan 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Pan  enjoyed  much  honor  in  Lesbos,  especi- 
ally in  the  country  districts.  Wernicke^"  has  pointed  out  that 
because  of  the  connection  in  early  times  with  the  Boeotians,  we  may 
suppose  that  the  Lesbian  cult  came  from  that  country.  At  a  com- 
paratively early  time  we  find  him  represented  on  coins.^^'*  The  vivid 
way  in  which  Longus  describes  the  worship  of  Pan  gives  the  impres- 
sion that  it  was  deep  seated  in  the  lives  of  the  country  people.  Pan 
is  mentioned  in  the  prooemium,  together  with  the  Nymphs  and 
Eros,  as  one  to  whom  the  Pastoral  is  dedicated.^^^     The  crowning 

'8^  Longus,  Past.  Ill,  2i, 
^32  Hesychius,  s.  v. 

Etym.  Mag.  p.  213,  55  and  schol.  Pers.  Sat.  I,  75.    Roscher's  Lexikon,  III, 


133 


520.  Heracl.  Pont.  9,  2  (F.  H  G.  II,  214)  says  BpZaat  give  instruction  in  bee 
culture,  and  Nu/i<^at  in  the  raising  of  cattle. 

'^l.  G.  XII,  ii,  129. 

"^  See  p.  43. 

»»  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  70. 

"7  Roscher's  Lexikon,  III,  1372. 

"8  Wroth,  Cat.  pp.  161  and  164.  Also  in  Methymna  in  the  time  of  Cara- 
calla,  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  56,  no.  34.  Aenus,  an  Aeolic  colony  of  Cyme  and 
Mytilene,  has  coins  representing  a  goat-footed  Pan. 

i3»  Longus,  Past.  Prooem.  and  IV,  36. 


ir  -  > 


^ 


w^ 


of  the  goat  with  pine  and  the  sacrifice  of  it  to  the  god  with  wine, 
calling  propitiously  on  the  god,^^*^  the  offering  of  little  garlands  and 
bunches  of  grapes^^^  are  described.  His  shrine  was  beneath  the  pine 
tree;^^^  and  at  the  close  of  the  story  we  are  told  that  they  gave  to 
Pan  instead  of  the  pine  a  temple,  called  the  temple  of  Pan  Srpa- 
TLiCT-qs}^^  Another  passage  of  the  Pastoral  states  that  he  is  accus- 
tomed to  camps,  and  leaving  farming  has  waged  many  wars.^'*^ 
Mention  is  Hkewise  made  of  the  terrors  which  Pan  causes.^^^  The 
shepherds'  favorite  form  of  oath  was  by  Pan  and  the  Nymphs,^*^ 
and  it  is  he  who  is  often  invoked  for  aid.^^^  At  the  close  it  is  said 
that  the  characters  of  the  story  reverenced  as  long  as  they  lived  the 
Nymphs  and  Pan  and  Eros.^^^ 

At  Mytilene,  according  to  an  inscription,^"*^  a  month  was  named 
for  Pan. 

GEOI  nATPfilOI 

In  Lesbos  inscriptions^^^  of  Roman  times  mention  0eot  warpcooL. 
Most  of  these  records  are  from  Methymna,  where  it  seems  to  have 
been  the  custom  for  the  chellestos  to  offer  sacrifices  to  these  deities. 

Pluto 

Pluto,  the  name  used  in  cult  practice  for  Hades,  occurs  in  a  dedica- 
tion made  by  a  w^oman  of  Mytilene. ^^^  In  this  inscription  Pluto  is 
the  only  god  left  uncharacterized  by  an  epithet.  Papageorgiu 
would  make  a  dative  plural  of  IIANAZ^AAIOI,  which  is  the  reading 
on  the  stone,  and  have  it  include  Pluto.^^^     But    though  Asphalios 

1*0  Longus,  Past.  II,  31. 

^"  Longus,  Past.  II,  32. 

1*2  Longus,  Past.  II,  23  and  31;  III,  12. 

"3  Longus,  Past.  IV,  39. 

1"  Longus,  Past.  II,  23.  The  gods  of  the  shepherds  and  warrior  are  closely 
related.  See  the  dedication  to  Pan  avaTparevdnevos  (Egypt),  Rev.  des  fitudes 
grecques,   IV,    1891,   p.   55,   no.   9.      Cf.    Roscher's  Lexikon,   III,    1389. 

^"  Longus,  past.  II,  25. 

1*"  See  p.  71. 

'*'  Longus,  Past.  II,  7;  II,  23;  II,  30. 

'*«  Longus,  Past.  IV,  39. 

1"!  G.  XII,  ii,  69,  of  Imperial  Age.  But  the  month  was  doubtless  named 
in  the  early  centuries. 

I'o  These  inscriptions  are,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  58  a,  1.  16;  131;  498,  I.  8;  502,  1.  4; 
503,  1.  5. 

1*1  See  p.  23. 

"2  David,  'AvtK.  'E-n-Lyp.,  p.  7,  reads  iravaaipaXio}. 


^> 


74 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


is  a  very  common  title  for  Poseidon,  it  has  not  been  found  for  the 
god  of  the  lower  world.  The  dative  singular  applying  to  Poseidon 
only  is  the  better  reading.  Hofer^^''^  suggests  that  iravewccTrri  charac- 
terizes Pluto  rather  than  Zeus  and  that  each  deity  has  his  special 
epithet.  But  though  the  term  is  appropriate  for  Pluto,  the  order 
of  the  words  is  against  this  view.  In  I.  G.  XII,  ii  484,  it  is  possible 
that  Pluto  is  called  Mux^s,^^  and  that  he  has  a  irapeSpos  in  his  service. 

Priapus 

According  to  a  passage  of  Petronius,  Priapus  enjoyed  an  extensive 
cult  in  Lesbos.^^5  jt  ^eems  that  in  maritime  towns  he  was  wor- 
shipped as  protector  of  navigation  and  fishing,  and  probably  that 
element  entered  into  the  Lesbian  cult.  He  was  evidently  also 
connected  with  the  KaWtareW'^  held  at  the  temple  of  Hera.  His 
portrait  occurs  with  Dionysus  on  coins  of  the  island/^'  where  his 
bearded   term   closely  resembles   that   of   Dionysus. 

Serapis  and  Isis 

In  consideration  of  the  extensive  communication  and  trade  which 
existed  between  Lesbos  and  Egypt,^^^  it  is  natural  that  the  Lesbians 
should  be  influenced,  especially  during  the  period  of  Egyptian  supre- 
macy in  Lesbos,  by  the  Egyptian  deities,  which  were  forcing  their 
way  into  all  parts  of  the  Greek  world. ^^^ 

At  Mytilene  an  inscription  of  the  third  or  second  century  B.  C.^^° 
gives  a  dedication  to  Serapis  and  Isis,  and  a  later  inscription  dating 
from  Roman  times  contains  a  dedication  to  Isis  IIeXa7ia  EvaKoos}^^ 
The  epithet  Pelagia  indicates  control  of  the  sea.  There  is  a  chance, 
though  it  is  not  likely,  that  these  dedicatory  inscriptions  were  erected 
by  foreigners  residing  in   Mytilene  as  an  expression  of  individual 

^"Hofer,   Roscher's  Lexikon,  III,   2571,  compares  'Eirwiris  as  an  epithet  of 

Demeter. 

1"  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  1139. 

1"  Petron.  Sat.  133,  3.     See  also  De  ApoUon.  Tyr.  ch.  30. 

^**  See  pp.  27-8. 

1"  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  161,  no.  58  and  PI.  XXXIII,  2. 

"i'  See  pp.  xii-xiii  and  Wiegand,  Milet,  III,  no.  152  (note  on  p.  374). 

w9  For  a  treatment  of  Serapis  and  Isis  in  Lesbos  see  A.  Rusch,  De  Serapide 
at  Iside  in  Graecia  Cuitis,  Berlin,  1906,  pp.  67  f. 

180 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  98. 

i«i  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  113.     For  Eucikoos  see  Weinreich,  Athen.  Mitth.  XXXVII, 

1912,  pp.  1  f. 


#      > 


^|l# 


k«#  n 


OTHER  DEITIES 


75 


devotion,  and  that  the  deities  were  not  publicly  recognized.  Such 
a  thank  offering  we  know  was  made  in  Mytilene  by  Isidorus  of 
Alexandria  to  Zeus,  Melius,  Serapis  and  Isis.^^^  g^^  ^{^^  appearance 
of  Serapis  on  Lesbian  coins  removes  this  doubt.  Coins  showing 
this  type  date  from  the  time  of  the  free  city,  and  one  as  late  as  Valerian 
or  GalHenus.^^^ 

From  Methymna  comes  an  inscription  dating  from  about  the 
first  century,^^^  and  reading, 

XapainaaTal 

ol  k7rayy€L\aiJLepoL  Kal  elaeveyKaPTes  ra  IIEIPA  els  Trjv  avvobov  tC^v 
fieydXix)^  2apa7rt€twj',  oircos  els  ivavTa  top  xpovov,  rots  NEI0I2  auvTeXooPTat 
at  ^uo-tat  KaT*  eKaarov  eviavTov.  About  thirty  names  follow.  The  inscrip- 
tion is  of  great  interest  and  importance  because  it  bears  witness 
that  in  Methymna  was  a  band  of  men  organized  in  the  worship  of 
Serapis;  and  that  there  was  a  yearly  festival  called  the  Serapieia,  at 
which  sacrifices  were  offered. 

There  are  three  names  of  men  derived  from  the  names  of  these 
Egyptian  gods.^^^ 

Silvanus 

During  the  centuries  when  Rome  governed  the  Greek  world  it 
is  to  be  expected  that  Roman  deities  should  be  introduced  into  that 
region.  One  of  the  Roman  gods  whose  worship  was  spread  in  the 
provinces  of  Europe,  North  Africa,  and  Asia,  was  Silvanus.^^^  At 
Mytilene  there  was  an  altar  and  a  grove  dedicated  to  KaXos  "kyvos 
XiX^avos,  as  an  inscription  of  Imperial  times^^^  shows.  'A7J/6S  is  the 
equivalent  of  the  Roman  "Sanctus,"  which  was  a  favorite  title 
applied  to  Silvanus;  but  KaXos  is  an  attributive  unusual  to  him. 

According  to  Domaszewski,!^^  only  two  altars  of  Silvanus  have 
been  found  in  the  East — one  at  Pergamum  and  the  other  at  Augus- 
topolis  in  Phrygia.     This  altar  at  Mytilene  will  then  make  a  third. 

^«I.  G.  XII,  ii,  114  =  Athen.  Mitth.  XI,  1886,  p.  265,  no.  3. 
^"  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  63,  no.  77.     Wroth,  Cat.  p.  203,  no.  185. 
i"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  511.     The  meaning  of  neither  HEIPA  nor  NEI0I2  is  known. 
For  the  latter  'lauiois  has  been  conjectured,  Rusch,  /.  c. 
i«  Sittig,  op.  cit.  p.  167. 
^««  Roscher's  Lexikon,  IV,  869  f. 
"'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  122. 
•   "*  Abhandlungen  zur  romischen  Religion,  p.  79. 


76 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


OTHER  DEITIES 


77 


Themis 

Themis  is  perhaps  named  in  connection  with  the  dedication  of  a 
bronze  statue  to  Artemis  at  Kato-Pyrgi,  north  of  Mytilene.  But 
so  mutilated  is  the  inscription  that  the  context  cannot  be  determined. 
Even  the  name  Themis  depends  on  a  probable  restoration.^^^ 

Tyche  of  Mytilene 

In  the  mvths  relating  to  the  settlements  of  Lesbos  the  eponymous 
heroine  of  the  city  of  Mytilene^'^  takes  an  important  part.  In  later 
times,  therefore,  when  the  personification  of  cities,  especially  in 
Asia  Minor,  became  common,  it  must  have  been  very  easy  for  the 
people  of  Mytilene  to  personify  their  city  as  the  Tyche  of  Mytilene. 
A  stone^^^  found  north  of  the  city  on  the  way  to  Thermae,  naming 
Artemis  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other  UeydXr]  Tvxv  UvTL\r]ur]s, 
has  been  discussed  in  the  section  concerning  Artemis.  The  types 
on  coins  of  Imperial  times  are  added  to  the  epigraphical  evidence. 
The  coins  represent  Tyche  wearing  a  chiton  and  peplos  and  turreted 
headdress,  seated  on  a  throne  or  standing,  holding  a  patera  in  her 
right  hand,  and  in  her  left  a  Dionysus  term  (sometimes  a  cornucopia 
is  substituted  for  the  term).  Before  her  stands  very  often  the 
figure  of  some  god— Dionysus  or  his  term,  Artemis,  Serapis  or  As- 
clepius.  The  earhest  representation  of  the  Tyche  yet  found  occurs 
on  a  coin  of  the  time  of  Domitian,^'''  and  her  appearance  is  especially 
frequent  on  the  coins  of  Valerian.  In  some  cases  representations 
on  coins  are  difficult  to  identify  positively.^'^  Those  considered  to 
be  the  Tyche  are:— 

Wroth,  Cat.  p.  202,  no.  178-80;  p.  203,  no.  185;  p.  205,  no.   197;  p.  210,  no. 

216;  p.  211,  no.  220,  223-7;  p.  213,  no.  230;  p.  214,  no.  232-5;  Macdonald, 

op.  cit.y  II,  p.  319,  no.  21. 

i«9l.  G.  XII,  ii,  108=Athen.  Mitth.  XI.  1886,  p.  281,  no.  42. 

>70Sheis  called  daughter  of  Macar  or  Pelops,  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  MvtlXvpv', 
mother  of  Macar,  Townl.  V,  Schol.  II.  XXIV,  544;  wife  of  Poseidon's  son  Myton, 
see  p.  39;  sister  of  Myrina  the  Amazon,  Diod.  Sic.  Ill,  55;  daughter  of  Macar 
and  sister  of  Methymna  and  other  Lesbian  eponymous  heroes  and   heroines, 

Diod.  Sic.  V,  81.  ..       .         ■    '        .u 

m  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  270  =  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880  p.  430,  no.  14.     Artemis  is  not  here 

intended  as  the  Tyche.     See  pp.  15-6. 

1"  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  205,  no.  197.  The  inscription  MTTIAENNA,  a  dialectic 
form  of  Mytilene,  accompanies  the  representation. 

I"  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  169,  no.  3-4;  p.  170,  no.  5. 


4rs^ 


On  coins  of  Pyrrhai74  ^f  ^.j^^  fourth  century  B.  C,  Head  thinks  the 
Nymph  Pyrrha  is  portrayed,  but  Wroth  suggests  that  it  is  rather 
Aphrodite.  The  type  presents  a  female  head,  wearing  sphendone, 
earring  and  necklace. 

General  Worship 

According  to  Hesychines,!^^  the  days  on  which  the  Lesbians  performed 
public  sacrifice  were  called  MeaoaTf)0(po)viaL. 

An  important  inscription  from  Mytilene  has  recently  been  found  con- 
cerning the  purification  of  women  in  temple  ritual.^^^ 

''*  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  216,  no.  1-3;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  563. 

^^^  Hesych.  s.  v.  MecroaTpoipoiplai. 

"« Wilamowitz  and  Hiiler  von  Gaertringen,  Athcn.  Mitth.  XXX,  1905,  pp.  141  f. 


HEROES 


79 


CHAPTER  III 
Heroes 

Achilles 

On  cape  Sigeum  lay  the  town  Achilleum,  and  near  by  it  the  grave 

of  Achilles.  There  was  a  cult  image  of  Achilles  and  a  temple,  and 
there  Achilles  was  honored  as  a  hero  and  a  god.^  As  this  region  was 
colonized  by  Mytilene,^  the  influence  of  the  cult  was  undoubtedly 
extended  to  Lesbos,  which  was  so  near  to  Sigeum.  This  is  rendered 
almost  certain  by  the  fact  that  the  island  was  connected  by  tradition 
with  many  deeds  of  Achilles.^ 

Deiphobus 

An  inscription  found  near  Ilium^  gives  a  dedication  of  the  people 
of  Mytilene  to  the  fortunate  Deiphobus,  rCo  evrvxel  i^riiipb^i^.  But 
Deiphobus  was  more  likely  a  citizen  of  Ilium  than  the  hero  of  that 

name. 

Dioscuri 

In  the  temenos  of  the  Dioscuri  at  Naucratis,^  the  rim  of  a  vase 
was  found  with  the  inscription  Neapxos  ^t  Kaddr]K€  rots  AioaKopoLai.^ 
The  opinion  of  scholars  now  is  that  vases  of  this  kind,  discovered 
at  Naucratis,  are  Lesbian.  But  this  dedication  might  have  been 
offered  by  Nearchus  because  of  his  personal  interest  in  gods  which 
were  not  recognized  in  Lesbos.  Another  inscription,  however, 
found  in  a  region  even  more  remote  than  Naucratis,  gives  more 
certain  evidence  for  the  existence  of  a  Dionysus  cult  in  Mytilene. 
The  inscription  reads,-  EvirXea  tQ  [Atoa]K6pco[i]  t^[l]  MvTLXrjval^L]. 
The  restoration  is  probably  correct,  and  a  comparison  with  similar 
inscriptions  of  Prote  shows  that  t<2  ALoaKopu)  can  scarcely  be  the 
name  of  a  man.^     The  addition  of  tQ  MurtXr^i/atwt'  indicates  that  there 

1  Pliny,  H.  N.  V,  125;  Strabo,  XIII,  596. 

2  See  Introduction,  pp.  x-xi. 

3  Cf.  Gilbert  Murray,  Rise  of  the  Greek  Epic,  p.  222. 
*C.  I.  G.  II,  3614  b. 

6  See  Introduction,  p.  xii. 

«  Gardner,  Naukratis,  II,  p.  67,  no.  840;  Hugo  Prinz,  Funde  aus  Naukratis, 
p.  57,  no.  4;  Loeschcke,  Arch.  Anz.  1891,  p.  18. 
n.  G.  V,  i,  1549. 
•  See  I.  G.  V,  i,  Index,  Res  Sacrae. 


was  a  cult  of  at  least  one  of  the  Dioscuri  at  Mytilene.  Judging  by 
these  similar  inscriptions^  of  Prote  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that 
a  citizen  of  Mytilene,  when  stopping  at  the  island  off  the  coast  of 
Messenia,  made  a  dedication  to  a  deity  of  his  own  city  in  hope  of 
a  safe  return.  The  inference  is  that  the  Dioscuri  exercised  in  Lesbos 
the  function  which  they  so  often  held  as  gods  of  the  sea.  The  naming 
of  only  one  Dioscurus  is  unusual,  but  an  illustration  of  the  use  of 
the  single  god  is  found  in  Lesbos  itself.  On  coins^^  is  found  a  beard- 
less male  head,  wearing  the  pileus,  wreathed  with  laurel,  and  on 
each  side  of  the  head  a  star.  Wroth  identifies  it  as  one  of  the 
Dioscuri  or  Cabeiri. 

On  the  neighboring  island  of  Tenedos  there  was  a  cult  of  the 
Dioscuri. ^^ 

Heracles 

The  Minyan  element  in  the  settlement  of  Lesbos  suggests  that  Heracles 
was  an  important  hero  in  the  island.  In  fact  Roscher  (Roscher's  Lexi- 
kon,  II,  1088)  believes  that  the  frieze  representing  centaurs  fleeing  before 
Heracles  which  was  found  at  Assus,  a  Lesbian  colony,  was  due  to  Thes- 
salian  influence  coming  by  way  of  Lesbos. 

Lesbian  coins  with  representations  of  Heracles  have  been  found 
dating  from  the  fifth  century;  and  fromi  that  time  till  the  first 
century  B.  C.  his  portrait  appears  occasionally.  During  Roman 
Imperial  times,  however,  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  used  as  a 
type.  The  usual  representation  is  a  bearded  male  head  with  the 
lion  skin.     On  a  coin  of  Caracalla  he  is  crowned  by  Athena. ^^ 

At  Eresus  there  is  record  of  festivals  with  athletic  games  named 
in  honor  of  Heracles.  During  them  it  was  a  custom  to  honor  bene- 
factors and  other  men  worthy  of  praise,  for  we  read  in  a  decree  of 
Eresus  that  a  certain  judge  from  Miletus  be  given  honors  at  the 
Dionysia  and  at  the  Ptolemaia,  and  at  the  gymnastic  games  of 
Heracles. ^"^ 

"  I.  G.  V,  i,  1538  f. 

>°  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  166,  no.  98-100  (dating  440-350);  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  p. 
313,  no.  11.  On  a  relief  at  Sparta  (Athen.  Mitth.  II,  1877,  p.  393)  one  Dioscurus 
is  also  represented. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  640  mentions  a  priest  of  the  Dioscuri. 

^2  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  73,  no.  132. 

"  Wiegand,  Milet,  III,  no.  152,  11.  77,  82,  89. 


«  ! 


80 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


HEROES 


81 


fi 


An  inscription  from  Mytilene^^  and  one  from  Kato-Pyrgi,^^  in  the 
same  region,  seem  to  indicate  that  a  similar  festival,  called  the  Hera- 
cleia,  was  celebrated  also  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  .island. 

There  are  eight  names  of  men  derived  from  Heracles  in  Lesbos. 

Coins  representing  Heracles  are  as  follows: — 

Lesbos:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  157,  no.  13-6;  p.  158,  no.  26;  p.  166,  no.  102(?); 

p.  167,  no.  114;  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  49,  no.  3;  Macdonald,  op.  cit. 

TT,  p.  312. 
Mytilene:  Suppl.  VI,  p.  73,  no.  132. 

Methymna:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  179,  no.  16;  Head,  H.  N.  p.  561. 
Club-Mytilene:   Wroth,  Cat.  p.  188,  no.  45,  46(?);  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p. 

60,  no.   58.     Methymna:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  180,  no.  27.     Antissa:  Wroth, 


Cat    p,  175,  no.  3,  8.  9. 


Lam  pet  US 


Lampetus,  who  is  said  to  have  been  slain  by  Achilles, ^^  became  a 
local  hero  and  had  honor  paid  him  at  his  tomb  in  Lesbos. ^^  Plehn 
thinks  his  heroon  was  probably  near  that  of  Lepetymnus,  in  the 
region  of  Methymna. ^^  The  hero,  Irus,  father  of  Lampetus,  was  of 
Thessalian  origin.^' 

Lepetymnus 

Myrsilus,  the  Lesbian, ^^  says  that  there  was  the  heroon  of  Lepetym- 
nus and  a  temple  of  Apollo  at  Mt.  Lepetymnus,  near   Methymna. 

Orpheus 

It  is  not  unfitting  that  Lesbos,  which  was  called  iraaecjov  .  .  . 
iLoiborarr]:-'^  should  be  closely  associated  with  the  myth  and  worship 
of  Orpheus.  In  ancient  times  this  was  commented  upon  by  Aris- 
tides  Rhetor,'-^^  who  says  ol  (pare  fih  r-qv  pijaov  airaaau  hfiiv  elvaL  ^ovaiK-qv 
Kal  TOVTov  Tr]v  'Opifeojs  KeifaXrjp  alrtaade.       Eustathius"-    also    tries    to 

H  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  49. 

»  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  480=  B.  C.  H.  IV,  1880,  p.  447.     Cf.  Nilsson,  Gr.  Feste,  p.  453. 

wParthen.  Erot.  ch.  21  =  F.  H.  G.  IV,  p.  314.  Eustath.  Comment.  II.  1030, 
25,  calls  him  Lampus. 

1'  Staph.  Byz.  s.  v.  \aiJ.wtT€Lov. 

'«  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  p.  9. 

'«  Antig.  Caryst.  ch.  17. 

20Stobaeus,  Flor.  64,  14  (Phanocles),  and  Hyginus,  Poet,  Astron.  II,  7,  pro 
quo  beneficio  ad   musicam  artem  ingeniosissimi   existimantur  esse. 

•"  Aristides,  I,  p.  84,  Dindorf. 

22  Eustath.  Dion.  Per.  536. 


explain  the  reason  for  the  association  of  the  story  with  Lesbos, 
saying,  ''There  they  say  that  after  his  death  the  head,  giving  forth 
utterances,  was  carried.  And  this  was  told  because  in  this  place 
after  Orpheus  the  men  best  in  eloquence  were  born,  among  whom  were 
Arion  of  Methymna,  and  Pittacus,  and  the  poet  Alcaeus,  and  Sap- 
pho." Nicomachus,23  figuratively  expressing  the  influence  of 
Orpheus,  says  that  seamen  of  Antissa  found  the  lyre  of  Orpheus  and 
took  it  to  Terpander.  Obviously,  as  Plehn24  states,  the  story  of 
the  head  was  an  expression  in  mythical  form  of  musical  skill  brought 
by  the  Aeolians  from  the  Boeotian  Thracians,  and  in  Lesbos  per- 
fected. Of  interest  in  this  connection  is  the  fact  that  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Hebrus  lay  the  city  of  Aenus,  a  colony  of  Lesbos  and 
Cyme.^^ 

The  stories  about  the  head  and  lyre  of  Orpheus  differ  a  great 
deal,  and  of  these  perhaps  Lucian-*^  tells  the  most  elaborate."^    In 
the  course  of  the  story  he  says  that  the  Lesbians,  taking  up  the 
head,27  buried  it  where  now  they  have  a  Baccheion;  but    the    lyre 
they  hung  up  in  the  temple  of  Apollo,  and  for  much  time  it  was  kept 
safe.     Maas   believes   that   the  Baccheion    which    Lucian    mentions 
lay  in   the  region  of  Lyrnessus.^^     For  Philostratus^^  says  that  it 
was  to  the  Aeolian  city  of  Lyrnessus  that  the  lyre  was  brought; 
and  adds,   "Still  even  now  the  parts  of  Lyrnessus  about  the  sea 
sound  with  music  through  the  singing  of  the  rocks."    Nicomachus 
and  Antigonus  of  Carystus'^o  say  that  the  site  was  the  old  city  of 
Antissa,  and  this  is  more  probable  in  consideration  of  the  Dionysus 
cult.     Gruppe^^  believes  that  the  symbols  on  the  coins  of  Antissa, 
such  as  the  Thracian  tiara,  suggest  a  connection  with  the  Orpheus 
story. 

"  Nicomachus,  Musici  Scrip.  Gr.  p.  266. 

24  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  p.  140. 

^  Strabo,  VII,  331,  frg.  52.     See  Introduction,  pp.  x-x'. 

2«  Lucian,  Adv.  Indoct.  11  f. 

"  The  head  alone  is  mentioned  by  Antig.  Caryst.  (Myrsilus)  Hist.  Mir.  V; 
Philostr.  Heroic.  V,  p.  306;  Hyginus,  Poet.  Astr.  II,  7;  Proclus,  In  Rempub.  p! 
121  (p.  101  Schoell).  The  lyre  alone  is  mentioned  in  Nicomachus,  /.  c;  Philostr. 
Heroic.  X,  p.  311.      For  the  head  and  lyre  see  Stobaeus,  I.  c;  Ovid,  Meta.  XI,  55. 

28  The  home  of  the  maiden  Brisa,  Maas,  Orpheus,  p.  131. 

2»  Philostr.  /.  c.  Nicom.  /.  c. 

3°  Antig.  Caryst.  /.  c.  calls  it  Antissaia,  and  says  that  the  nightingales   sang 
more   sweetly    there    than   elsewhere. 
31  Roscher's  Lexikon,  III,  1093. 


82 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


HEROES 


S3 


li      ' 


I 


i 


Lucian  says  that  the  head  was  buried;  and  this  grave  for  the  head 
then  became  apparently  a  center  for  an  oracle  of  the  dead,  such  as 
were  scattered  throughout  Greece.  Miss  Harrison^^  thinks  that  the 
lyre  was  probably  a  later  decorative  addition  to  an  old  head-oracle 
story.  At  any  rate  the  oracle  of  Orpheus  enjoyed  considerable 
fame,  and  sent  responses  not  only  to  the  neighboring  lonians,  but 
even  to  Babylon.  Philostratus  says  that  it  was  a  convenient  oracle 
also  for  theAchaeans  at  Troy.  Evidently  there  was  later  rivalry 
on  the  part  of  the  oracle  of  Apollo,  and  the  prophetic  power  of 
Orpheus  lost  its  fame.^^  Still  his  shrine  appears  to  have  existed  until 
late  times;  and  Apollonius  of  Tyana  is  said  to  have  visited  the  adyton 

of  Orpheus. ^^ 

No  certain  identification  of  Orpheus  on  coins  has  been  made, 
but  a  youthful  male  head  is  thought  by  Wroth  to  be  perhaps  a  repre- 
sentation of  Orpheus  because  of  the  headdress,  which  may  be  Thra- 
cian,^^  and  because  of  its  resemblance  to  the  well-known  Naples 
reUef  of  Orpheus  and  Eurydice. 

Falamedes 

The  evidence  for  the  existence  of  a  cult  center  of  Falamedes  m 
Lesbos  itself  is  very  doubtful,  though  some  scholars  do  interpret 
certain  passages  referring  to  the  shrine  of  Falamedes  so  as  to  consider 
it  in  the  northern  part  of  the  island,  near  Methymna.^*^  To  be  sure, 
Lycophron  concerning  the  death  of  Falamedes  says,  6v  vtouKa^h 
KpHu  ttot'  h  K\y]poLaL  Mr]evfivr]s  areyos.''  But  h  K\i]poLai  Urjdv^vTls 
must  refer  to  the  territory  on  the  continent  belonging  to  Methymna, 
as  indeed  Philostratus^^  shows,  Waxl^av  be  avTOP  'AxiXX^t?  ^^  ^^i-  ''^"'^^ 
es  rr|i'  ofiopov  rfj  T poiq.  r^v  MoUujp  r]TT€Lpov.     A  sentence  or  two  below  he 

32  Jane  Harrison,  Proleg.  to  Gr.  Religion,  p.  465-7.  For  illustration  in  vase- 
painting,  see  Miss  Harrison,  /.  c.  It  is  said  to  have  given  the  famous  oracle  to  Cyrus, 
TOL  kixa,  oj  KDpe.  crd,     Philostr.  Heroic.  V.  p.  306. 

33  Philostr.  \  it.  Apoll.  IV.  14. 
3*  Philostr.  I.e. 

3*  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  155,  no.  58;  Eckhel,  D.  N.  II,  p.  501(?);  Head,  H.  N.  p.  558. 

3«  Gruppe,  Or.  Myth,  p  2^6,  "Der  Falamedes  auf  dem  Berge  im  Norden  der 
Insel."  On  p.  634  he  says  that  Falamedes'  grave  was  either  in  the  region  of 
Methymna,  or  on  the  Trojan  shore  colonized  by  Methymna.  Hofer,  Roscher's 
Lexikon,  III,  1271;  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  p.  9. 

"  Lycophron,  I.  1097  and  Tzetzes,  schol. 

3*  Philostr.  Heroic.  X,  p.  312.  Plehn,  /.  r.  thinks  that  Philostratus  means 
that  the  sepulchre  was  in  Asia  Minor,  but  the  sanctuary  in  Lesbos. 


adds,  iia(TT€VHv  8^  XPV  rb  Upbv  /caret  U-qSv^ivkv  re  Kal  Xeirkrvuvov,  6pos  8^ 
Tovroi^nUv  V7rep<l>alpeTaL  Trjs  Aea^ov.  The  phrase  /card  Mijdv^pav 
r€  Kal  Aeirkrvfivov  alone  is  rather  ambiguous,  and  Tzetzes^^  wrote  kv 
Aewervfivc^  8^  6peL  ttjs  U-qdhvns  rkdairrat  6  Ua\afxrj8r}s .  But  this  statement 
is  evidently  incorrect,^^  as  is  shown  by  the  account  given  in  the  life 
of  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  who  went  to  find  the  grave  of  Falamedes, 
UepL^aXoju  ovv  to  Tpcouoj/  aKpcoTrjpiov  eKeXevae  top  Kv0€ppr)TTip  KaTaaxell 
€s  TTjp  AloXeoiP,  fj  LpTLirkpas  AealSov  /cetrat,  7rp6s  Mi)dvpip6.p  re  fidWop  TeTpafJL- 
txkpop  TroLetadaL  top  op/jtop^^ 

Likewise  Pliny,  in  naming  the  towns  of  the  Troad  on  the  Gulf 
of  Adramyttium,  calls  one  Palamedeum,^^  ^^^^^^y^  undoubtedly 
obtained  its  name  from  the  hero.  But  even  if  the  seat  of  the  cult 
was  in  the  territory  owned  by  Methymna  in  Asia  Minor,  the  people 
of  Lesbos  must  have  taken  considerable  interest  in  honors  rendered 
him.  Philostratus  says  that  a  shrine  was  built  to  him  and  a  noble 
statue  of  Falamedes  in  armor  was  set  up,  and  that  those  living  in 
the  coast  cities  assembled  and  gave  sacrifice.^^  But  by  the  time  of 
the  Roman  Empire  the  cult  became  neglected.  Apollonius^^  found 
the  grave,  and  buried  near  it  a  statue,  with  eelco  Ua\afiij5eL  painted 
on  the  base.     He  therefore  set  it  up  and  put  a  shrine  around  it. 

According  to  Curtius,^^  the  Falamedes  cult  arose  through  a  per- 
sonification of  the  Fhoenician  culture,  as  his  inventions  are  of  Fhoeni- 
cian  origin.  Gruppe,^^  however,  believes  Falamedes  was  brought 
from  Locris,  apparently  to  Issa  and  from  there  to  Methymna.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  this  cult  of  the  hero  who  was  reputed  to 
have  made  calculations  about  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  stars, 
should  have  been  associated  with  Mt.  Lepetymnus,  the  home  of  the 
famous  astronomer  Matricetas.^^ 

3«  Tzetzes,  /.  c.  Cf.  Ps.  Eudocia,  Violarium,  p.  321,  h  XiworvfiUi^  bpei  Urj9uni^r]s, 
and  Tzetzes,  schol.  Lycophron,  1.  386. 

"  Holzinger,  Lycophron,  1.  1098,  note. 

*'  Philostr.  Vit.  Apol.  IV,  13,  p.  133  k. 

*2  Pliny,  H.  N.  V,  123. 

*3  Philostr.   Heroic.   X,   p.   312. 

«  Philostr.  Vit.  Apoll.  IV,  13,  p.  133  k.  See  Philostr.  Heroic.  II,  p.  296,  for 
the  appearance  of  Falamedes  to  a  farmer  and  the  advice  given  about  the  protec- 
tion of  vines. 

«  Rh  Mus.  VII,  1850,  p.  455. 

"  Gruppe,  Gr.  Myth.  p.  296;  p.  623,  n.  6;  p.  634. 

♦"  Theophr.  De  Sign.  Pluv.  et  Vent.  I,  4. 


V, 


84 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


Penthilus 

Penthilus,  the  son  of  Orestes  and  Erigone,  was  said  to  have  led  a 
colony  of  Aeolians  to  Lesbos.'*^  Stephanus'*^  states  that  Penthile 
was  a  city  of  Lesbos  and  that  the  citizens  were  called  Ilei'^tXets  from 
Penthilus;  from  which  Eitrem^^  concludes  that  Penthilus  was  given 
heroic  honors  among  the  Lesbians. 

Tantalus 

In  Stephanus^^  we  find  two  statements  made  of  Tantalus  with 
reference  to  Lesbos.  The  first  is  that  Polion  was  a  place  in  the 
island,  where  was  X\\theroon  of  Tantalus,  and  the  other  that  Tantalus 
is  a  nioimlain  that  takes  its  name  from  him.  According  to  Gruppe, 
from  East  Boeotia  his  cult  was  planted  in  Elis  and  Polion.  We 
tind  here  another  trace  of  the  association  of  the  myths  of  Pelops 
with  Lesbos. 

Tramhelus 

When  Achilles  was  carrying  off  spoils  of  war  from  Lesbos,  Tram- 
helus opposed  him  and  fell.  Achilles,  in  admiration  of  his  bravery, 
asked  him  who  he  was  and  learned  that  he  was  son  of  Telamon. 
Weeping  for  the  deed  he  built  a  great  mound  on  the  shore.  "And 
this,  still  today,  is  called  'the  Heroon  of  Trambelus, '  "  says  Par- 
thenius.^- 

"Strabo,  IX,  402;  X,  447;  XIII,  hU;  Paus.  Ill,  2,  1,  etc.  The  Penthelidae 
were  an  important  family  in  Lesbos.  Pittacus  was  related  by  marriage  to  a 
Penthilus,  Diog.  Laert.  I,  4,  8. 

<9Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  MevBlXt). 

'0  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encyd.  VIII,  1139. 

'^  Staph.  Byz.  s.  v.  VL6\lov  and  Tai'raXos. 

"Parthen.  Erot.  ch.  26=  F.  II.  G  IV,  p.  335,  2  a.  Cf.  Fick  Vorgr.  Ortsna- 
men,  p.  63. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Kings  and  Emperors 

In  historic  times  the  first  person  to  whom  heroic  honors  seem 
to  have  been  given  was  Philip  of  Macedon,  father  of  Alexander  the 

honn  '     p   .        TkT'  ^"  ^""  °^  ^'"'  *'X-x,os'  erected  in  his 
honor.     P,stonus^  believes  that  the  altar  was  set  up  at  the  over- 
throw  of   the   earher   tyrants,   Hermon,   Heraeus  and  Apollodorus, 
some  ume  before  the  death  of  Philip,  and  not  at  the  e.xpulsion  of 
Agonippus  and  Eurysilaus  (probably  334  B.  C).     For  if  the  altar 
were  erected  two  years  after  the  death  of  Philip,  Pistorius  explains, 
we  should  have  to  deal  with  a  kind  of  extended  hero  cult,  in  which 
the  honor  no  longer  clings  to  the  site  of  the  tomb,  and  such  a  worship 
cannot  be  proved  in  any  other  place  for  Philip;  while  divine  honors 
received  during  his  life  time  are  not  seldom  to  be  found.     But  the 
passages  which   Pistorius  cites'  do  not   clearlv   prove   that   Philip 
enjoyed  during  his  life  such  regular  worship  as  the  erection  of  an 
altar  to  Zeus  <I>.Xix;r.os  indicates.      Hirschfeld^  seems  more  correct  in 
saying  that  the  establishment  of  the  cults  of  living  heroes  and  men 
in  power  arose  first  after  Alexander  the  Great,  and    perhaps    in 
Egypt  and  Persia  the  notion  that  the  king  was  god  or  son   of    a 
god  obtained  earliest  recognition.       It  seems  more  likelv  that  the 
altar  was  erected  after  the  death  of  Philip,  in  the  cult  of  a  departed 
hero,  such  as  those  which  the  Lesbians  already  knew. 

During  the  third  century  honors  in  Lesbos  seem  to  have  been 
given  to  the  Ptolemies  only.  An  inscription  from  Methvmna^  calls 
Ptolemy  IV,  Philopator  (221-205  B.  C.)  and  his  wife  Berenice  Qeol 
H-epyerai.  Another  inscription^  of  the  same  city  is  probably  to  be 
restored  to  read  'Apa^.o^  e.d.  From  the  last  line  of  the  inscription 
to  Ptolemy  Philopator  and  Berenice  it  is  believed  that  the  birthday 
of  Ptolemy  was  observed  in  Methymna.  Likewise  a  month,  the 
'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  526, 1.  5. 
'  Pistorius,  op.  cit.  p.  121. 

'  For  honors  to  Philip  see  Died.  Sic.  XVI,  92,  5;  Demos.  Trugges.  (XIX), 
261;  Arr,an  1,  17,  11;  Paus.  I,  9,  4;  VIII,  30,  6.  For  honors  of  like  nature  to 
o  her  men,  Lysander:  *Plut.  Lys.  18,  3,  4;  Agesilaus:  Plut.  Apophth.  Lac.  Ages. 
25;  Dion:  Diod.  Sic.  XVI,  20,  6. 

« Hirschfeld,  Kleine  Schriften,  p.  471. 

!  J'  ?■'  ^11'  "'  f  «=Dittenberger,  O.  G.  I,  78  =  Collit2,  Dial.  Inschr.  no   276. 
'  I.  G.  XII,  11,  513. 


w 


86 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


KINGS  AND  EMPERORS 


87 


name  of  which  begins  with  Hr  .  .  .  was  apparently  so  called  in 
honor  of  an  Egyptian  king.^  At  Eresus  Ptolemaia  were  celebrated 
as  late  probably  as  the  second  century  B.  C.,^  even  though  the  time 
had  passed  when  Egypt  had  control  in  Eresus. 

Roman  Emperors 

The  cult  of  Dea  Roma  was  spread  in  Asia  Minor  in  the  early  period 
of  the  Roman  conquest  in  the  East.  Even  in  195  B.  C.  the  people 
of  Smyrna  erected  a  temple  to  this  goddess. ^  In  Lesbos  likewise 
the  worship  may  have  been  instituted  in  such  cities  as  Methymna 
and  Eresus,  which  were  particularly  friendly  to  Rome.  Mytilene, 
however,  was  wavering  in  her  allegiance,  and  at  the  time  when  Pom- 
pey  assumed  control  of  affairs  in  the  East  she  was  in  great  danger 
of  punishment  from  Rome  because  of  the  help  and  favor  that  she 
had  shown  Mithridates.^o  Through  the  unexpected  mercy  which 
Pompey  displayed  towards  Mytilene  at  this  crisis,  he  won  her  friend- 
ship and  numerous  expressions  of  thanks,  recorded  in  honor  inscrip- 
tions which  name  him  as  ^oorrjp,^^  XvTOKpaTU)p,''^  Kriarr^s,^^  EvepyeTr^s}^ 
There  must  ha\e  been  honors  after  Pompey's  victory  in  the  East, 
but  in  no  case  is  the  title  Oeos  found  for  him  in  Lesbos.  About 
heroic  honors  to  his  son  scholars  do  not  agree. ^^  Several  coins 
given  by  Mionnet^*^  bear  an  inscription  rjpws  ZCe^ros.  These  Cicho- 
rius^^  thought  referred  to  Sextus  Pompey,  as  Sextus  alone  would  not 
have  been  sufficient  to  designate  any  other.  Gardthausen  was 
opposed  to  this  view  and  produced  very  good  arguments  against 
it.  H.  Pleinen  rightly  agrees  with  Gardthausen,  believing  that  the 
Sextus  here  portrayed  lived  after  the  time  of  the  Flavians  and  is 
husband  of  Flavia  Nicomachis,  shown  on  the  reverse  of  the  same 

'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  500. 

»Wiegand,  Milet,  III,  no.  152,  U.  77,  89  and  note.  I.  G.  XII,  ii,   527,  1.25. 
The  festival  consisted  of  gymnastic  games. 

9  Tac.  Ann   TV,  56.     Cf.  BuckJer  and  Robinson,  A.  J.  A.  X\  Ii,  1913,  pp.  44,  45. 

»o  Rev.  des  Etudes  grecques,  XVIII,  1905,  pp.  166  f. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  140,  142-9,  163  a,  165  a,  202. 

i2 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  140,  163  a,  164  a,  165  a,  202. 

13 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  140,  163a,  165  a,  202. 

'*  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  140,  142,  143,  163  a,  165  a. 

"See  Hirschfeld,   Kleine  Schriften,  p.  475. 

»«  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  46,  no.  104-6;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  63,  no.  81. 

"  Cichorius,    Rom   und   Mytilene,   p.   9. 


com.  H.  Heinen^s  rightly  agrees  with  Gardthausen.  F.  Imhoof- 
Blumer  has  lately  published  another  coin  of  Mytilene  with  the  inscrip- 
tion SEHTOS  NE02  MAKARC^us)  and  a  bearded  head  of  Sextus 
on  the  obverse,  while  on  the  reverse  is  a  bust  of  Andromeda  with  the 
inscription  ANAPOMEAA  NEA  AESBtt.  Imhoof-Blumer  suggests  that 
this  last  inscription  is  in  the  dative  case,  and  that  by  the  coin  the 
''new  Macareus"  renders  honor  to  the  ''new  Lesbos,"  who  was 
probably  his  wife.^^  On  a  coin  of  Marcus  Aurelius  is  also  the  legend, 
Sextus  Hero.20 

But  by  her  very  friendship  with  Pompey,  Mytilene  was  again 
brought  into  danger  of  punishment  by  Rome,  and  was  no  doubt 
very  eager  after  the  battle  of  Pharsalus  to  win  favor  with  Julius 
Caesar.  An  inscription  which  appears  to  give  honor  to  Caesar  the 
Dictator,  and  which  mentions  Roma  KiKrj^dpos,  dates  probably  a 
short  time  after  this  battle.^i  Kaiaapos  deod  serves  as  the  heading  of 
a  letter  which  was  written  by  Caesar  to  the  Lesbians  in  45,  but  the 
monument  which  records  the  letter  was  probably  not  erected  until 
after  the  death  of  Caesar  in  the  next  year.22  The  other  inscriptions 
preserved  which  refer  to  Julius  Caesar  as  a  god  are  of  later  date.-^ 

Many  Lesbian  inscriptions  give  to  Augustus  titles  of  divinity, 
and  together  with  the  goddess  Roma  he  had  a  firmly  established 
cult.  'Apxtpecc^s  did  (3lo:  Ocas  'Pwyuas  Kal  too  Ze^darc^  Aios  Kaiaapos 
'OXu/xTTtco  .  .  .  irpoedpla^'^  tells  of  a  priest  of  Rome  and  Augustus,  and 

»« Gardthausen,  Augustus,  II,  p.  160,  n.  20.  He  claims  that  Mionnet,  in  De- 
scription de  Medailles,  describes  the  coins  very  inaccurately,  but  somewhat  better 
m  the  Supplement.  The  likeness  of  the  portrait  to  Sextus  Pompey  is  limited 
to  the  full  beard.  H.  Heinen,  Klio,  Beitrage  zur  alten  Geschichte,  1911,  p.  138, 
note  9.     (Htinen  gives  wrong  reference  to  Cichorius). 

''  Rev.   Beige  de  Numis.   LXV,   1909,  pp.   235  f.  Wroth  reviewing  Imhoof- 
Blumer  reads  Nea  AeajSos  and  MdpKou  but  AE2Bi2  is  clear  on  the   coin.      Wroth 
CI.  Rev.  XI,  1897,  p.  227. 

20Riv.   Ital.   di   Numis.   XXI,    1908,  p.   320. 
2'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  25. 
=«  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  35  b,  1.  7. 

^  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  166  dates  between  September,  1  A.  D.  and  February,  3  A.  D. 
Papageorgiu,  Uned.  Inschr.  v.  Myt.  no.  9  and  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  165  b,  c  mention 
also  Gains  and  Lucius  Caesar.  Augustus  is  called  son  of  a  god  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii, 
61,  152,  153,  157,  158,  164  d,  536;  Papageorgiu,  op.  cit.  no.  13.  In  I.  G.  Xll.ii,' 
53  Caesar  writes  Oeou  vlbs  (restored)  in  a  letter  to  the  people  of  Eresus,  but  Gew 
Kaiaapi  (1.  19)  was  probably  written  by  the  people  of  Eresus 
2*  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  656. 


88 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


an  altar^  erected  in  his  honor  has  been  preserved.  I.  G.  XII,  ii, 
58a,  1.  15,  kv  Tit)  vaC)  rod  Atojs  /cat  h  rw  tov  'Ze^aarov,  if  correctly 
restored,  mentions  a  temple  of  Augustus  which  would  date  very  early — 
about  27  B  C,  probably .2«  He  has  the  titles  Seds  SeiSatrros,"  Zeus 
'OXvfjLTTLos,-^  Katcrap  6  0e6s"^  and  'EXevSepLos.^^  Most  of  the  inscriptions 
come  from  Mytilene,  and  in  fact  only  three  are  from  other  places, 
two  being  from  Methymna^^  and  one  from  Plakados  near  Mytilene. ^^ 

Divine  honors  were  also  extended  to  many  members  of  the  family- 
of  Augustus,  and  Hirschfeld"''^  believes  that  Livia  had  a  cult  in  the 
East  during  the  lifetime  of  Augustus.  The  inscription  9EA  AIBIA 
on  coins  of  Lesbos  shows  that  she  was  given  divine  honors  there. "^^ 

Eresus  gave  Julia,  daughter  of  Augustus,  the  name  'kippoblra 
T^vkrupo}^  and  Plakados,  near  Mytilene,  set  up  an  inscription'^^  to 
vka  Xifpobira  to.  iraldt  rCc  -e/^dcrro;  Oeco  Kalaapos  rd  evepyeTidi.  On  a 
coin  of  Mytilene  she  is  called  lOT.  OEA  :::EBA::TII  MTTI."  To  her 
husband,   Agrippa,   was  also   given   the   title  Oeos.^^ 

Hirschfeld^^  believes  that  Gaius  and  Lucius  Caesar  were  not 
allowed  by  Augustus  to  have  a  cult  during  their  life  time.  But 
Mytilene  hastened  soon  after  the  death  of  Lucius  to  proclaim  him 
Geos;  for  in  an  inscription  of  honor  to  the  two  adopted  sons  of  Augus- 
tus,'*-^ which  must  date  before  the  death  of  Gaius,  Lucius  alone  is 


^=  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  152.     Cf.  Heinen,  op.  cit.  p.  170. 

^  Dittenberger,  O.  G.  I.  II,  no.  456,  so  dates  it. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  61    153,  155,  157,  164  d,  168,  170,  204,  482,  536,  539. 

-« I.  G.  XII.  ii,  206,  209,  540  (Zeus  omitted),  656;  Papageorgiu,  /.  c. 

'^  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  44,  1.14;  Papageorgiu,  /.  c. 

'n.  G.  XII,  ii,  156. 

^'  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  539  and  540. 

3-  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  482. 

"  Hirschfeld,  op.  cit.  p.  484. 

^*  Heinen,  op.  cit.  p.  175.  See  also  Eckhel,  D.  \.  VI,  p.  648;  Mionnet,  Descr. 
VI,  p.  671,  no.  404  (uncertain);  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  39,  no.  55. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  537  =  Athen.  Mitth.  XIV,  1889,  p.  259,  no.  37. 

3«  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  482.  Eckhel,  D.  N.  VI,  p.  168,  Pergamum  or  Smyrna  like- 
wise honored  Julia  as  Aphrodite. 

"Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  48,  no.  118.  Heinen,  op.  cit.  p.  176,  says  Julia 
was  called  Gottin  in  Lesbos,  but  his  reference  (B.  C.  H.  1880,  p.  517)  in  note  15 
refers  to  an  inscription  from  Thrace. 

3*1.  G.  XII,  ii,  166  c,  168,  171,  203.  These  honors  were  doubtless  given  to 
Julia  and  Agrippa  during  their  stay  in  Lesbos,  about  23  B.  C. 

"  Hirschfeld,  op.  cit.  p.  486. 

*°  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  166  b  (between  September,  1  A.  D.  and  February,  3  A    D.). 


KINGS  AND  EAfPERORS 


89 


called  066s.  Likewise  a  coin  of  Augustus  shows  the  heads  of  the  two 
princes.^i 

^  Germanicus^2  ^^d  Agrippina  «  especially  because  of  their  residence 
m  Mytilene  in  18  A.  D.,  were  honored  as  god  and  goddess  by  dedica- 
tions and  coins,  and  their  daughter  Agrippina  was  called  Oea  0ovUa  ^ 
Drusus  Germanicus«  received  the  title  6  Geos,  and  Drusilla^«  that 
of  vka  *A(ppo8lTTj. 

In  the  time  of  Tiberius  we  may  conclude  that  the  priesthood  of 
the  Augusti  was  very  large  at  Eresus,  from  an  inscription  which 
reads,"  Ti/3epio.  KXaM.o.  Kaiaapa  Xk^aarov  t6v  XhroKphropa  rbv  aauirvpa 
raj  oU^f^has  oi  avro,  Kai  tCp  &\\c,,  2e/3aara,j.  «p«s  Ka9upooaa,^.  An 
inscription  from  the  vicinity  of  Mytilene  and  one  from  Hiera  give 
Tiberius  divine  honors.'" 

_  A  few  inscriptions  honoring  Nerva,"'  Trajan,'"  and  Sabina^>  as  dei- 
ties are  found  and  a  coin  of  Trajan  is  inscribed  GEAN  TOMAN  MTTI  ^'- 
But  those  records  which  give  divine  titles  to  Hadrian  are  especially 
numerous.  -EXn^ep^os,  'OXinwws  and  'OXi-MTrti.r.trros  are  the  names 
chosen  to  give  him  honor.*^  An  inscription  which  reads  irpo,  r,  rois 
eeocs  2(iSa<7Tois,''  it  is  impossible  to  assign  definitely  to  the  reign  of 

"  Mionnet,    Descr.   Ill,   p.   40,   no.   56. 

«  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  212,  213  b,  and  by  restoration,  210  and  213  a.     See  also  Wroth 

of  n.  !'  "°-  ^'^^'  """^  ^^lionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  49,  no.  121-2;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  65,' 
no.  88-90,  for  Geos  FepixafiKSs  on  coins. 

« I.  G.  XII,  ii,  208,  210,  212  (by  restoration),  213  a,  b,  258.  See  also  Wroth, 
Cat.  p.  204,  no.  193;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  49,  no.  121;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  65,  no.  88; 
and  {QeaAcoXis  'Aypnnr^lpa)  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  49,  no.  122;  SuddI    VI    n 
65,  no.  89-90.  ^^         '  ^' 

ii,  211. 
ii,  207. 
ii,  172  b. 
ii,  541. 
ii,  205,  484. 

ii,  139,  181,  200,  214  and  104(?)  (Henzen,  Ephem.  Epig.  II,  p  22) 
ii,  200.  F6      ,F       ;. 

ii,  200  and  262(?). 

"  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  65,  no.  92. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  536,  from  Eresus,  AvroKparo^p  Ka7aap  Qkos  also  dates  perhaps 
from  the  time  of  Hadrian.  From  Mytilene  are  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  185,  191-6,  'EXei^e- 
ptos'OXuMTrtos;  also  197-9  by  restoration;  183,  'EXevdepcos  'OXuf^rndKnaros  Zevs;  186- 
90,  •OXi-MTTio^;  184  and  Papageorgiu,  op.  cit.  no.  3,  Zeus  '0\{;,x7nos. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  2  24,  1.  7.  Paton,  (see  note)  and  Latischev  (Athen.  Mitth.  X, 
1885,  p.  121,  no.  22)  think  this  stone  without  doubt  came  from  Mytilene,  though 
the  man  who  brought  it  to  the  museum  at  Odessa  claimed  that  it  came  from 
Halicarnassus. 


^  I.  G.  XII, 
"  I.  G.  XII, 
*'  I.  G.  XII, 
«  I.  G.  XII, 
*n.  G.  XII, 
"  I.  G.  XII, 
"  I.  G.  XII, 
"  I.  G.  XII, 


90 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


any  one  emperor.  Likewise  undetermined  is  the  emperor  to  whom 
the  prayer  is  made  in  the  inscription,  iieytaTos  deoju  Zevs  /cat  6  Geos  Ze^aards 
otre  XotTTOt    'Adaparoi  iravTes   tovtov  kl^oKkaaav  (xui^oi^v  bk  ^e.^^ 

Elagabalus  and  Aquilia  were  on  coins  given  the  title  of  divinity.^^ 
And  one  of  the  frequent  devices  on  coins  of  the  later  period  was  a 
representation  of  the  emperor  crowned  by  the  goddess  of  the  island.^^ 

No  doubt  Mytilene  was  as  early  as  Pergamum  and  other  important 
Asiatic  cities  to  build  a  temple  to  Augustus,  as  has  been  seen  from 
indications  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  58a.  The  establishment  of  permanent 
priesthoods^^  in  their  honor  also  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  there 
were  temples  of  the  Augusti.  It  is  not  until  the  records  of  the 
second  or  third  century,  however,  that  we  find  in  an  inscription 
suggestion  again  made  of  a  temple  of  Augustus,  and  that,  too,  by 
restoration.^^  Coins  of  the  period  commemorate  the  dedication 
of  an  octostyle  temple,  finished  after  the  death  of  Marcus  Aurelius 
and  dedicated  to  Commodus  in  about  180  A.  D.*^-'  Coins  of  the  time 
of  Elagabalus  show  a  tetrastyle  temple,  with  the  Emperor  sacrifi- 
cing before  it.^^ 

Whether  a  Neocoria  was  granted  to  the  Koinon  is  not  known. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  278,  11.  hi.  To  whom  Ot6%  applies  in  Papageorgiu,  op.  cil. 
no.  9  a  and  c  is  also  not  determined. 

"  jNIionnet,  Descr.  p.  58,  no.  177. 

"Wroth,  Cat.  p.  169,  no.  34;  Mionnet,  Do^cr.  Ill,  p.  iS,  no.  23;  Suppl.  VI, 
p.  50,  no.  7;  Macdonald,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  318,  no.  17. 

"I.  G.  XII,  ii,  154,  210,  549  (priest  and  hic^h  priest  of  the  Augusti  and  all 
the  other  gods  and  goddesses). 

*n.  G.  XII,  ii,  65=  B.  C.  H.  XV,  p.  672. 

•opick,  Jahresh.  des  Oesterr.  Arch.  Inst.  VII,  1904,  pp.  6  and  24-5.  Types 
of  the  Commodus  temple.  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  170.  no,  6;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  34, 
no.  22-4  and  Suppl.  VI,  p.  50.  no.  4-6,  8-11. 

«'  "Mionnet,    Descr.    Ill,   p.    58,    no.    177. 


CHAPTER  V 

Lesbian  Citizens 

During  the  Roman  Imperial  Age  not  only  were  cults  of  Roman 
emperors  and  their  famihes  established  in  Lesbos,  but  heroic  titles 
and  other  divine  honors  were  also  given  to  Lesbians  who  attained 
distmction.     This   fact   Hterature,    inscriptions   and    coins    declare 
The  earliest  of  these  citizens  to  win  such  honors  seems  to  have  been 
Theophanes,!  who  by  his  ability  as  an  historian  won  favor  with 
Pompey,  and  who  through  Pompey  gained  pardon  from  Rome  in  a 
manner  almost  miraculous,  when  punishment  had  seemed  inevitable 
Tacitus^     says,     "defuncto    Theophani    caelestes    honores    Graeca 
adulatio  tribuerat,"  and  the  statement  is  confirmed   by  an  inscrip- 
tion found  at  Mytilene^  which  reads  Oec  Aa  'EXe.^ep^co  ^tXo^drptSt 
Oeoc^d^r?.     Coins   of  Livia   and   Augustus   bear   the  legend   Beo^av-ns 
eeos'  and  one  from  the  time  of  Tiberius  has  the  head  of  Theophanes 
with  the  inscription  Geo^dvrjs  Geos  on  the  obverse,  and  on  the  reverse 
'ApxtdafXLs  Sea,   with  the  bust  of  Archedamis,   draped  and  veiled  ' 
Archedamis  is  thought  to  be  the  wife  of  Theophanes,  but  Paton 
doubts  this.^ 

Towards  the  end  of  the  second  century  an  inscription  from  My- 
tilene^  gives  the  following  record  of  honor,  6  ddmos  M.  Homttt^IW  Ma- 
Kpelpov,  vtov  eeo<pdurjp.  From  this  F.  Deneken^  infers  that  the  divine 
honors  and  cult  of  the  older  Theophanes  remained  unweakened 
after  two  hundred  years.  But  L.  Hahn^  believes  that  this  man  was 
a  descendent  of  Theophanes.  It  may  be,  however,  that  pkos  eeo^dvrj, 
was  added  to  the  name  of  Macrinus  simply  because  Theophanes 

'  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  pp.  211  f.  and  H.  de  la  Ville  de  Mirmont,  Rev.  des  fitudes 
grecques,  XVIII,  1905,  pp.  166-8. 
2  Tac.  Ann.  VI,  18. 
U.  G.  XII,  ii,  163  b. 

*  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  48,  no.  117;  Suppl.  VI,  p.  63,  no.  80. 

nVroth,  Cat.  p.  198,  no.  158;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  47,  no.   108;  Eckhel 
D.  N.  II,  p.  504. 

«  Paton's  note,  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  232. 

^I.  G.  XII,  ii,  235  =  Frankel,  Arch.  Zeit.  XLIII,  1885,  pp.  150  f. 
^      '  Roscher's  Lexikon,  I,  2549.     In  the  time  of  Septimius  Severus,  Theophanes 
IS  also  represented  on  coins.     Wroth,   Cat.  p.   201,  no.   175. 

*  Rom  und  Romanismus,  p.  229. 


I 


92 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


LESBLVN  CITIZENS 


93 


III 


Hi 


was  illustrious  in  memory,  just  as  veos  Majcapevs  was  added  to  the 
name  of  Sextus  on  a  coin  of  earlier  date.^<^ 

At  the  time  of  Augustus  there  lived  in  Mytilene  another  important 
Lesbian,  Potamon,  son  of  Lesbonax,  orator  and  statesman. ^^  On 
the  walls  of  one  of  the  buildings  in  Mytilene  was  doubtless  a  record 
of  the  decrees  in  his  honor.  Several  of  these  inscriptions  preserved 
from  this  so-called  Monumentum  Potamoneum^-  praise  him  as 
EvepyeT-qs,  ZoiTi]p  and  Kticttt^s,  but  none  yet  found  give  him  titles  of 
divinity.  On  one  of  the  stones  which  is  in  a  very  fragmentary 
condition,  however,  the  words  rov  i]poi(j^ov^^  may  be  distinguished. 
This,  as  well  as  the  existence  of  such  a  building,  leads  to  the  belief 
that  Potamon  enjoyed  heroic  honors.  Likewise  an  inscription  seems 
to  indicate  a  festival  established  in  his  honor.^*  In  the  time  of  Tiber- 
ius,^^  a  Lesbonax  who  must  have  been  the  father  of  the  statesman 
Potamon,  and  therefore  dead,  according  to  Cichorius,  was  given 
the  title  vkos  r;pa;s.  Still  later,  in  the  time  of  the  Antonines,  on  the 
obverse  of  a  coin  is  the  inscription  Aecr/Scb^'aJ  ripcos  vko%  with  a  male 
bust,  beardless,  and  wearing  a  wreath  of  ivy  berries.  Here  is  repre- 
sented Lesbonax  in  the  character  of  Dionysus. ^'^ 

Coins  of  Matidia,  niece  of  Trajan,  which  show  a  male  figure  with 
the  attributes  of  Asclepius  and  the  legend  HANKFATIAHS  are  better 
considered  as  representing  a  Mytilene  physician,  honored  with 
divine  attributes.  One  of  these  coins  has  on  the  reverse  a  portrait 
of  Dada,  which  causes  Wroth^^  to  suggest  that  Pancratides  may  be 

related  to  her. 

^uvby.axos  ripo)s  appears  on  a  Lesbian  coin  found  by  Svoronos^^  in 
Athens.     Coins  of  the  time  of  the  Antonines^^  bear  the  inscriptions 

"  See  p.  87. 

^^  Cichorius,  op.  clt.  p.  62;  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  p.  217. 

12  1.  G.  XII,  ii,  p.  13. 

13 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  29. 

1*1.  G.  XII,  ii,  51. 

"Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  48  no.  116.     Cf.  E.  Deneken,  Roscher's  Lexikon, 

I,  2549. 

i«  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  199,  no.  164;  Mionnet,  Suppl.  VI,  p.  64,  no.  84-5.  Cichonus, 
op.  cit.  p.  65.  Distinct  from  Lesbonax,  the  philosopher,  thought  Imhoof-Blumer, 
CI.  Rev.  XI,  1897,  p.  227. 

1-  Wroth,  CI.  Rev.  VII,  1894,  pp.  226  f.     Head,  H.  N.  p.  563. 

^8  Riv.  Ital.  di  Numis.  XXI,  1908,  p.  321. 

19  Procla:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  200,  no.  165;  Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  47,  no.  109-11; 
Macdonald,  op.  cit.  p.  318,  no.  14.  Nausicaa:  Wroth,  Cat.  p.  200,  no.  167; 
Mionnet,  Descr.  Ill,  p.  47,  no.  113.  Wroth,  CI.  Rev.  /.  c.-  Svoronos,  Riv. 
Ital.  di  Numis.  XXI,  1908,  p.  320. 


lOT.  nPOKAAN  HPQIAA  and  NAT2IKAAN  HPQIAA.    Wroth  identi- 
fies Juha  Procla  with  the  Procla  of  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  240.     Some  scholars 
believe  that  Nausicaa^o  here  refers  to  the  Homeric  heroine,  but  by 
far  the  greater  number  are  incHned  to  believe  her  a  prominent  Les- 
bian  woman  given  heroic  honors.^i     In   the  second  century  such 
heroic  honors  were  frequently  given  to  both  men  and  women,  as  a 
large  number  of  inscriptions  show.     Four  sepulchral   inscriptions 
found  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city  and  belonging  perhaps  to  a 
public  monument,  record  names  of  men  who  won  the  title  rjpc^s  22 
And  two  other  stones  of  like  character  and  bearing  similar  inscrip- 
tions,  found  in  the  same  place,  are  supposed  to  mark  the  graves  of 
men  who  were  likewise  honored  as  heroes,  though  the  word  rjpcos 
IS  omitted  on  these  two  stones.23     Stones  from  individual  graves  of 
heroes  have  been  discovered  in  Mytilene  and  along  the  roads  leading 
from  It.     These  men  are  Lesbians  otherwise  unknown  to  us,  Hera- 
chdes,    son   of   Heraclides,    Alexander,    son  of  Alexander,    Senatius, 
Elpidas,  Pancarpus.24     Likewise  a  woman,  Claudia  Dada  (?)  i^potva, 
daughter  of  a  benefactress,  was  honored  by  the  people.^^     One  of 
the  most  surprising  cases  is  the  bestowal  of  the  name  ^pu,s  on  a  child 
who  died  at  the  age  of  five  years,  eleven  months  and  twenty-five 
days.     Very  few  instances  similar  to  this  have  been  found.^*^  ' 

Of  special  interest  in  connection  with  these  heroic  honors  is  a 
round  altar  of  the  first  or  second  century  A.  D.  The  cylindrical 
surface  is  ornamented  with  rams'  heads,  garlands  and  bullae.  In  the 
middle  of  the  top  surface  is  a  cylindrical  depression,  evidently 
intended  for  libation;  and  on  each  side  of  the  depression  is  sculptured 
a  serpent  with  its  head  towards  the  cavity.  The  altar  bears  the 
inscription,   6   Sa^os    'kpiaravbpui   tC^   KXeoTei/jLO)   rjpwi.27 

2"  Plehn,  Lesbiaca,  pp.  191-2. 

21  Wroth,  CI.  Rev.  /.  c;   Echkel,   D.   N.  "lI,   p.   504;   Svoronos,  /.  c:   Head 
H.  N.  p.  563. 

22 1.  G.  XII,  ii,  289-92.     Their  names  are  Lucius  Antonius  Capito,  Callicles 
Matrocles  and  Stratippus. 

"  I.  G.  XII,  li,  287-8.  Their  names  are  Heroidas  and  Cleodamus  Cf 
Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  VIII,  1137. 

'*  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  259,  367,  414,  422,  436. 
^      ="  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  228.     Paton  recognizes  that  the  reading  is  opposed  to  the 
identification  of  Claudia  as  wife  of  Caligula. 

^I.  G.  XII,  ii,  392  =  Report  on  the  Investigations  at  Assos,  Thacher-CIarke. 
Boston,  1882,  p.  142.  Cf.  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  VIII,  1138.  Similar 
cases:  Thera,  for  a  four  year  old  girl,  I.  G.  XII,  iii,  236;  Attica,  I.  G.  Ill,  ii,  1460 

"  For  a  drawing  see  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  286,  p.  72;  Conze,  op.  cit.  PI.  IV,  no    5 
Altar  now  in  the  school  in  Mytilene. 


94 


THE  CULTS  OF  LESBOS 


*  •» 


The  words  rats  ijpi^vaLs''  in  I.  G.  XII,  ii,  242,  probably  mean  the 
rites   due    to    the   heroic    dead. 

The  evidence  is  sufficient  to  show,  then,  that  in  Roman  times 
heroic  honors  were  freely  given  to  Lesbian  citizens.  By  the  third 
century  A.  D.  the  title  ^pojs  had  probably  lost  most  of  its  original 
meaning. 

28  Collitz,  Dial.  Inschr.  no.  241,  reads  [dvaUih,  but  the  reading  of  the  Corpus 
is  now  certain,  since  another  piece  of  the  stone  has  been  found.  See  Paton's 
note   I    G.  XIT.  ii,  242,  and  Eitrem,  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encycl.  VIII.  IK^U. 


, 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Epigraphy: 

Bechtel.     Aeolica.    Halle,  1909. 

David,  Emmanuel.     'AveKdorot  'Ewty paipai  Ae<r/3ou.     Mytilene,  1913. 

Papageorgiu,  Petros  N.     Unedierte  Inschriften  von  Mytilene.     Leipzig,  1900. 

T<S5os  Kal  Xka^os.  Leipzig,  1913. 

'ApxatoXoTui)  'Eiprjfiepts,  1913,  pp.  220  f.      Cf.  Wilhelm,  op.  cii. 

1914,  p.  84. 
Paton,  William.     Inscriptiones  Graecae   Insularum    Lesbi    Nesi    Tenedi    (I. 
G.  XII,  ii).  Berlin,  1899. 

Numismatics: 

Eckhel,  Joseph.     Doctrina  Numorum  Veterum.     Leipzig,   1792-1828. 

Head,  Barclay  V.     Historia  Numorum.     Oxford,  1911. 

Macdonald,  George.     Catalogue  of  Greek  Coins  in  the  Hunterian  Collection, 

II.     Glasgow,  1901. 
Mionnet.     Description  de  Medailles  antiques  grecques  et  romaines.     Paris, 

1806-08. 
Svoronos.     Rivista  Italiana  di  Ntimismatica,  XXI,  1908,  pp.  319  f. 
Wroth,  Warwick.    Catalogue  of  Coins  in  the  British  Museum:  Troas,  Aeolis 

and  Lesbos.     London,  1894. 

Greek  and  Latin  Authors: 

Anthologia  Palatina.     Paris,  1864-1890. 

Fragmenta  Historicorum  Graecorum.     Mueller.     Paris,  1878-85. 

Hesychius,  Lexikon. 

Longus,  De  Daphnide  et  Chloe.     Hirschig.     Paris,  1885. 

Philostratus,    Vita    Apollonii.     C.    L.    Kayser.     Leipzig,     1870. 

Heroicus.  C.  L.  Kayser.     Leipzig,  1871. 
Poetae  Lyrici  Graeci,  III.     T.  Bergk.     Leipzig,  1914. 
Stephanus  Byzantinus,  Ethnica.     Westermann.     1839. 
Strabo,  Geographica.     A.  Meineke.     Leipzig,  1877. 
Suidas,  Lexikon. 
Thucydides.     J.  Classen.     Beriin,  1885-95. 

History  and  Travel: 

Boutan.     Archives  des  Missions  scientifiques,  V.     Paris,  1856. 

Cichorius,  Conrad.     Rom  und  Mytilene.     Leipzig,  1888. 

Conze,  A.     Reise  auf  der  Insel  Lesbos.     Hannover,  1865. 

Koldewey,  Robert.     Die  Antiken  Baureste  der  Insel  Lesbos.     Berlin,  1890. 

Newton,  C.  T.     Travels  and  Discoveries  in  the  Levant.     London,  1865. 

Pistorius,  Hans.     Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  von  Lesbos  im  vierten  Jahrhundert 

V.  Chr.     Bonn,  1913. 
Plehn,  S.  L.     Lesbiacorum  Liber.     Berlin,  1826. 
H.  de  la  Ville  de  Mirmont.     Revue  des  fitudes  grecques,  XVIII,  1905,  pp. 

165  f. 


iii 


ii   Mi 


96 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Mythology  and  Religion: 

Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encyciopadie  der    Classischen    Altertumswissenschaft. 

Roscher,  Ausfiihrliches  Lexikon  der  Griechischen  und  Romischen  Mythologie. 

Daremberg   et    SagUo,    Dictionnaire   des    Antiquites   grecques   et    romaines. 

Farnell,  Lewis  R.     Cults  of  the  Greek  States.     Oxford,  1896-1909. 

Gruppe,  O.  Griechische  Mythologie  und  Religionsgeschichte.  Munich,  1906. 

Heinen,  H.     Klio-Beitrage  zur  Alten  Geschichte,  1916,  pp.  138  f. 

Hirschfeld,  Otto.     Kleine  Schriften.     Berlin,  1913. 

Mueller,  Bruno.     M^as  QeSs.     Halle,  1913. 

Nilsson,   Martin.     Griechische   Feste  von   Religidser  Bedeutung.       Leipzig, 

1906. 
Robert-Preller.     Griechische  Mythologie.     Berlin,  1894. 
Rouse,  \V.  H.  D.     Greek  Votive  Offerings.     Cambridge,  1902. 
Sittig,  Ernestus.     De  Graecorum  Nominibus  Theophoris.     Halle,  1911. 
Tumpel,  K.     Philologus,  XLVIII,  1889,  pp.  115  f.  and  XLIX,  1890,  pp.  89  f. 
W'einreich.     Athenische  Mittheilungen,  XXXVII,   1912,  pp.   1  f. 
Wide.  S.     Lakonische  Kulte.     Leipzig,  1893. 

Xote— In  the  use  of  accents  for  Aeolic  inscriptions  the  Corpus  of  Lesbian 
Inscriptions  has  been  followed  as  carefully  as  possible.  It  has  not  seemed  best, 
however,  to  write  the  more  common  epithets  with  Aeolic  accents,  even  when 
those   epithets   are   given   by  inscriptional   evidence. 

In  listing  coins  which  bear  the  symbols  of  the  gods,  those  coins  which  have 
also  a  representation  of  the  god  are  not  included. 


INDEX 


Achilles 

Adonis 

Adrasteia 

Agdissis 

Agrippa 

Agrippina 

'Axpaioi  deoL 

Alexander 

Amphitrite 
Andromeda 
■  L.  Antonius  Capito 
'AirapalTTjTOL  deal 
Aphrodite 

Pelasgian 
Xpvafj 

'T7rd/(oos(?) 


xiii,  43,  78 

34-5 

50 

56 

88 

46,  89 

24.  43 

93 

9 

39,  40,  42-3 

87 

93 

67 

28,  29,  32-5,  36,  77 

33-4,  36 

32 

33 

29,  34 


Apollo  1-12,  13,  15.  20,  21,  22,  31,  56, 

65,  66,  80,  81,  82 


'AXe^iKaA;os(?) 

Tpvpevs 

"EKaros 

'Epeatos 

0ep  Altos 

Ki£ap(^d6s 

KiXXatos 

AVKHOS 

MaXedras 
MaXdeu 

MupiKtttOS 

NaTralos 

Apriate 

Aquilia 

Archedamis 

Aichepolis  Philippina 

Ares 

Aristandrus 

Arsinoe 


9 

1,  3 
10 
6 
9,  15 
5 
2-3 
6,  11 
7 
6-9,  15 
5 
3-4 
1-2,  11,  32,  33 
33 
90 
91 
46 
49 
93 
85 


Artemis  5,   9,    10,    12-22,   47,   56,   62, 

65,  66,  76 
AWo-rria  18-9 

Aprji'ila  20 


Ephesus 

EuttKOOS 

Qep/jiia 

KovSvXeaTts 

KovdvXiTLS 

AevKotppvavA 

Ma\6eaaa{?) 

MeydXij 

'O/jidpoia 

Hepyala 

Pergamum 

Asclepius 

'Apxa76ras(?) 
NtKr](p6pos 
TLavKpaTiSrjsi?) 
Xiorijp 

Athena  12,  29 

'Idrjpa 

'0^v5€pKr}s 

'O^aXjuiTis 

IloXtds 

XcjTeipa 
1  Tra/coo? 

'TTTcpSc^t'a 
Augustus  Caesar 
Berenice 
Bplaai 
Cabeiri 
Cadmilus 
Caistris 
Callicles 

Claudia  Dada  (?) 
Cieodamus  (?) 
Commodus 
Concordia 
Cora 

Mi'xia(?) 

Zcbreipa 

Cybele 
Deiphobus, 
Deinomachus, 
Demeter     17,  3 


21,  50,  56 
13-5 
9,  L3-16,  17,  18 
19 
19 
20 
18 
15,  16,  17 
16,  17 
17 
21 
27,  50-5,  56,  76 
53,  n.  24 
54 
54,  92 
52-3 
-32,   34,  47,  65,  66 
29 
29,  30 
30 
30 
30-1 
30 
29 
29 
87-8 
85 
57,  72 
37,  79 
37 
55 
93 
93 
93 
90 
17 
31,  42,  45,  47,  65 
45 
45 
37,  50  54,  55-6 
78 
92 
1,  44-8,  65,  66 


r 


98 


INDEX 


i 


i!    < 


Dionysus    10, 

11,   12, 

13,   16, 

22,  31 

Hecate 

17-8,  68 

44, 

48,   54, 

56-67, 

74,   76 

Helius 

25,  58,  68-9,  75 

BprjcrayevTjs 

58 

KaWLveiKOi 

69 

BpLoralos 

57-9 

Hephaestus 

48 

'Efidonev^ 

63 

Hera 

27-8,  74 

'Epopxv^ 

65 

Heracles 

36,  79-80 

K^paX-qu 

59-61 

Heraclides 

93 

Mfdvi^UOLO^ 

61 

'Ep/uatcrrai 

38 

Mrjdvuualos 

61 

Hermes 

34,  35-8,  44,  56 

^aWiju 

59-61 

'EvaydovLos 

36 

Dioscuri 

78-9 

Heroidas  (?) 

93 

Dithyramb 

65 

Hestia 

49 

Af3va.5€s 

71 

IlpvTapeia 

49 

Drusilla 

35,  89 

Human  sacrifice 

Drusus  Germanicus 

89 

Dionysus 

59 

Echo 

72 

Amphitrite  and  N 

ereids                39 

Eirene 

67 

Hygeia 

53 

Elagabalus 

90 

Irus 

80 

•'EXftoi 

72 

Isis,  see  Serapis 

14 

Elpidas 

93 

neXa7ta  Eud/coos 

74 

'E;'»^<rtd5es 

72 

Julia 

35,  88 

'E7rt^r;Xi5es 

71 

Julia  Procla 

92-3 

Eriboia 

67 

C.  Julius  Caesar 

87 

Erinyes 

67 

Kaplaaai 

46 

Eros 

67-8,  72,  73 

Kapiro<p6poi  deoi 

46 

Iloiyui)!' 

67 

Lampetus 

xiii,  80 

Etephila 

42,  45-6 

Lepetymnus 

80 

Eu€TTjpia  Se/Saord 

68 

Lesbonax 

92 

Festivals 

Leto 

■      5,  20 

Artemis 

15,  20 

AiVKodeai 

43 

Athena 

31 

\evKoydT03v  Oiacros 

43 

Dionysus 

59,    60,    61, 

63-4,65, 

Linus 

65 

67,  79 

Li  via 

88 

Hera 

27 

Lucius  Caesar 

88 

Heracles 

79-80 

Machaon 

53 

Poseidon 

42 

MainaKTTJpi^ 

25 

Ptolemy 

79,  85-6 

Matrocles 

93 

Serapis 

75 

MfXtat 

71 

Zeus 

26 

Mercuriales 

38 

Gaius  Caesar 

88 

Mecro<rTpo(pcoftat 

77 

Ge 

67 

Months 

Gello 

68 

'AyeppauLO^ 

61 

Geren 

39 

'AiroWcoytos 

10 

Germanicus 

89 

Aalaiosi?) 

64 

Hades 

42 

At6vucros 

61 

Hadrian 

89 

'llipalaTLO'i 

48 

Hebe 

68 

GcXaiatosC?) 

65 

INDEX 


99 


QeodaLcTUJs 

64-5 

M^xtos 

74 

'0/xoX6tos 

44,  n.  4 

JIava<r<p6.\tos{?) 

73 

IlapvujTrlojv 

10 

U.aP€Tr6)Tn]s{?) 

74 

Hoaideos 

42 

Pnistia 

42,  45-6 

U6.P 

73 

Podalirius 

53 

Ht   .   .   . 

85-6 

TloXvKapTTOL  deoL 

46 

Muses 

5,  69-71 

Cn.  Pompeius  Magnus 

86 

Mutunus  Tutunus 

39 

Sextus  Pompeius 

86-7 

Mux^a 

42,45 

M.  Pompeius  Macrinus 

91 

Muxtos 

42,45 

Poseidon                        23-4, 

38-44,  73-4 

Mysteries 

*Aa<^dXios 

41,42 

Artemis 

17,  47  (?) 

'EXv/dVLOS 

41 

Cabeiri 

37 

'EXurtos 

41 

Demeter 

47 

KXu7-tos(?) 

41 

Emperor  (?) 

47 

Micro  IT  OPT  LOS 

40-1 

Myton 

vii,  39,  41 

Muxtos(?) 

42 

Nausicaa 

93 

Tlapa(7(pd\Los 

41 

Nemesis 

50 

Potamon 

92 

Neocoria 

90 

Priapus                                28,  34.  37.  74 

Nereids 

39,  40,  43 

Procla 

93 

Nerva 

89 

Prylis 

37 

Nymphs               44, 

62,  67-8,  71-2,  73 

Ptolemy  IV.  Philopator 

85 

Oaths 

Purification 

5,  20,  77 

Apollo 

6 

Pyrrha  (nymph) 

77 

Helius 

26,  69 

Roma 

86 

Nymphs 

71,  73 

ISi  iKr}<p6pos 

87 

Pan 

71,  73 

Sabina 

89 

Zeus 

26,69 

XapaTLaaraL 

75 

Oracle 

Senatius 

93 

Apollo 

4-5,  11,  60,  82 

Serapis  and  Isis 

25,  74-5,  76 

Artemis 

17 

Sextus 

86-7,  92 

Amphitrite 

40,  43 

Silvanus 

75 

Orpheus 

4,  82 

KaXos  'Aypds 

75 

Orpheus 

4,  59,  60,  65,  80-2 

Stratippus 

93 

Orthrus 

72 

Tantalus 

X,  84 

Palamedes 

82-3 

Telesphorus 

53 

Pan                          44 

,  62,  67-8,  71,  72-3 

Themis 

76 

ZTpartwTTjs 

73 

Theophanes 

91 

Pancarpus 

93 

Tiberius  Caesar 

89 

Pancratides 

54,92 

Trajan 

89 

Uarpc^ot  6eol 

73 

Trambelus 

xiii,  84 

Peitho 

33 

Tyche  of  Mytilene     15-6, 

20,  54,  62 

Penthilus 

ix,  84 

76-7 

Persephone 

45,  46,  47 

Uranus 

67 

Phales 

36 

Vestal  Virgins 

49 

Philip  of  Macedon 

85 

Zakoros 

53 

Pluto 

23-4,  42,  45,  73-4 

Zeus                     11,  21,  22-7 

,  65,  69,  75 

I>JDEX 


M 


'A^pato? 
Bot'Xatoi 
'EXevdipio^ 

K.tpavi'LOs: 
Mat/idxTTjf 
'0/ioXwto« 
Maii'6Xios 


5,26 

M«7t<Tro? 

24 

rTafeTrcuTTjs 

24 

Pelasgian 

25 

Zajr?7p 

22-3 

'TTTCp^t^tO? 

2.^ 

"TTraros 

25 

"T^tcros 

11 

<I>tXi7r7rto5 

25-6 

Zeus    Ammon 

25 
23 

22 
24,  30 

24,  29 
23 

23 

25,  85 
12,  25 


I 

r 


:^i 


VITA 

Emily  Ledyard  Shields  was  born  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  August 
29,  1883.     She  received  her  preparatory  education  in  the  Saint  Louis 
High  School,  and  entered  Bryn  Mawr  College  in  October,  1901.    From 
that  college  she  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  June,  1905, 
and  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  in  June,  1906.     During  1907-08 
she  studied  in  the  University  of  Oxford  and  in  the  University  of 
Berlin.     In  the  summer  of  1913  she  studied  at  the  University  of 
Chicago.     The  years  1913-15  she  spent  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, pursuing  courses  in  Classical  Archaeology,   Greek  and  Latin 
under  Professors  David  M.  Robinson,  Basil  L.  Gildersleeve,  Kirby 
Flower  Smith,  C.  W.  E.  Miller,  Dr.  R.  V.  D.  Magoffin  and  Professor 
Wilfred  P.  Mustard.     In  1913-14  she  was  fellow  and  in  1914-15  fellow 
by  courtesy.     She  is  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  to  express  to  all 
the  professors  under  whom  she  has  studied  her  sincere  and  abiding 
gratitude  for  the  great  inspiration  and  help  which  they  have  given 
her.     Especially  she  wishes  to  thank  Professor  Robinson,  by  whose 
advice  this  dissertation  was  begun,  and  by  whose  constant  assistance 
it  was  completed;  and  also  Professors  Gildersleeve  and  Miller  for 
their   most  valuable   suggestions  and  interest. 


,*\ 


\ 


// 


f 


I! 


r 


^ 


i 


.    CJ 


(€^^. 


■  :%'■ 


."■   < 


x 


^n 


>i 


o 

Ok 

o 


00 

O 
CO 


U. 
O 


v 


00  c/l 


/ 


JAN  24  1919 


u 


I 


•^ 


14  ■ 


